The Double Job
by A Lyrical Dreamer
Summary: The team takes a job that involves playing the same con on two separate, dangerous marks. Meanwhile Eliot is still adjusting to life with Abby and struggles to keep his two lives separate... until the job goes horribly wrong. Dun Dun DUUN! Fairly decent TeamFic plus Eliot and Abby mixed in between. Part 2 in the Time, Twists and Turns series. Now getting into the crux of the con!
1. Prologue

**AN- the Sequel to the Past and Present Job.**

**I do not own Leverage nor am I affiliated with it in any way.**

* * *

Joey Jenkins did one final check n the garage, making sure everything was locked away, tools were charging and doors were locked before he finally decided to go home for the evening. Walking to his car, his phone rang and he picked it up smiling.  
"Hey sis," he began. "I'm just leaving now so you can't be all 'I'm a workahollic because it's only," he looked at his watch. "8:15. Okay maybe a little..."

"_Joey the house burnt down!" _His sister yelled frantically, interrupting his teasing. Joey paused, shocked at the news.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Everyone's fine but the house is..." she stuttered. "There's nothing left."

"What happened?"

_"Arson,"_ she said simply and immediately, knowing who was behind it, he made a fist, punching his car door. "_Joey?"_

"Lanie, take the kids to a hotel. I'll be there as soon..." he was interrupted by a man pulling him away from his car and punching him in the gut, causing him to drop his phone.

_"Joey ?"_ his sister asked through the device, wondering what was going on.

"We warned you Jenkins," the man said, sending his knee into the knee into the man's shoulder; there was an unsavoury crack and Jenkins cried out in pain.

_"Joey?"_ his sister called again, hearing her brother's cries.

"You're a thug Decan! You're no good for this town! These kids.."

"I don't give a shit!" Decan said as he slammed his fist into Jenkins' ribs; another crack only this time, Joey couldn't gasp out in pain. "Last warning Jo. Next time I won't just go after your house."

The man threw one last punch, this time to his jaw, and let the man fall to the ground in agony. Then, straightening his jacket, he walked off into the night, leaving Joey fading in and out of consciousness, the only sounds the cries of his sister through his cell. It was another hour before the paramedics arrived.

* * *

**So I'm back and will be updating as much as I can but life is pretty busy at the moment so I apologise in advance for the eminent delays. **

**Also, thanks to my Beta floydist, you are awesome.**

**Ta.**


	2. Breakfast and Meetings

**AN- Set just after the Long Way Down Job, the rest of the story is set in the first part of season 4**

* * *

She woke to the smell of bacon and pancakes filling the apartment; all in all, a pleasant way to wake up.

"When did you get back?" she asked her uncle at the stove, tying her matted bed-hair into a ponytail.

"Last night, I had dinner with the team and when I got home you were asleep." He replied, somewhat bitterly.

"What's up with you?" she asked.

"Someone bugged the apartment," he said to her as he tipped out her food from the frying pan onto a plate.  
"What? this one?"

"No, Nate's."

"Ooh, that can't be good," she mumbled, mouth full of bacon.

"It ain't! I just dealt with this Moreau thing, and not two weeks later we have someone else to deal with."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out though. I mean, you guys seem to know what you're doing," she said, trying to be as helpful as she could.

"Thanks," he said. "Now eat your breakfast and get dressed. First day of school remember?"

She groaned.

"Don't give me that," he replied.

* * *

They arrived at the school in his orange Dodge; not the subtle way she was hoping to start her first day of school. She stepped out of the vehicle wearing boots, jeans, black singlet and sky blue jacket; an outfit she had chosen in an attempt to remain unnoticed. She wasn't looking forward to her first day.

They arrived at the principals office and were invited in.

"You must be Miss Abigail Spencer,"

"Actually its AJ," she interrupted. No one had really called her Abby since she had moved to Australia, except for Eliot. He flat out refused to call her anything other than Abby, Abigail or, occasionally, Abs, saying it was the name her mother picked for her, so the name he was sticking with.

"Of course. AJ," the principal corrected himself. "And Mr Eliot Spencer I presume?" They nodded and Eliot shook the man's hand. "First off, let me welcome you here. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here. You're a Junior aren't you?"

"Sounds about right," Abby replied nervouslywhile Eliot's phone rang.

"Excuse me," he said as he answered. "Hardison."

_"Hey Eliot."_

"Can this wait? I'm in the middle of something."

_"Won't take long man. Nate just wanted to make sure you're at the client meeting this morning."_

"How come? And and why didn't he just call me?"

"_He was going to but I wanted to make sure that you swept your house and car for more bugs like I showed you. And he said there could be some security risks." _

"Yeah. And what type of.." he trailed off; he had wanted to ask what type of security risks, but stopped at the risk of sounding suspicious to Abby's new principal. Normally, he would switch to another language but Hardison was the only one out of their team who had never bothered with it. Instead he had learnt binary and Klingon; two languages Eliot were fairly certain wouldn't be useful any time soon. "Look Hardison, text me the details. Tell Nate I'll be there but I might be running a little late." he said.

_"'kay man," _he hung up the phone.

"Sorry 'bout that. Work never stops does it," he said with a grin.

"What type of business are you in Spencer?" the principal asked.

"Uh, insurance," he said convincingly. "We investigate insurance fraud for larger companies for a fee, and for individuals, usually pro-bono."

"Sounds fascinating."

"_Is everything alright?"_ Abby asked in Russian; the pair had decided that, in order to improve her language skills, that whenever they talked to each other they would use a foreign language.

This month, it was Russian.

"_Yes, Hardison wanted to make sure I swept the house for bugs and that I go to a client meeting."_

_"Did you?"_

_"Not yet."_

_"Do you know how?" _she asked as she giggled slightly.

"You speak Russian?" The principal questioned, slightly surprised.

"Umm, yeah."

"Fascinating," he said again. They talked for a little while on the school, Abby's progress and her integration when, finally, she was invited to leave.

"Now, Abigail, AJ," he corrected, "I believe I've already taken you out of class long enough. Miss Docherty outside will show you to your class."

She nodded and began to pick up her backpack from the ground. The weight of all her school books, however made her grab her side in pain and topple over back into the chair. The principal looked concerned, as did Eliot.

"You okay?" Her uncle asked worriedly. She slowly straightened herself up and brushed the hair off her face.

"I'll be fine," she said.

"Abby?"

"I said I'll be fine Eliot. I promise," she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you after school?"

"Sure thing darlin'."

She picked up her bag again, this time on her uninjured side and walked out the door.

"What happened?" asked the principal once she had left.

"She got mugged a few weeks bag; broke a rib and got a few cuts and bruises. She did pretty well to fend them off though. I think she dislocated one of their shoulders," he said, reciting the story the pair had both decided on.

"Sounds like a strong young lady."

"She is."

* * *

Nate was waiting impatiently at the bar, whiskey in one hand, client file in the other. Their new client had arrived and was waiting at the one of the tables. Normally, he and Sophie would have engaged the client in an in depth discussion as to their problem only this time they were waiting on Eliot. The woman had expressed concern saying that their mark and threatened her and her family and Nate needed him to make an assessment on the risks and set up protection for their client and the team. Finally, half an hour late, he finally showed up.

"You're late," Nate said.

"There was traffic man," Eliot said with a straight face and Nate nodded in response; Eliot was a better liar than people gave him credit for. Nate gestured the hitter towards the client table and the pair of them sat down opposite a young, dark-skinned woman.

"Mrs Jenkins, this is my associate Eliot. Eliot this is Elaine Jenkins."

"Ma'am," Eliot said and she half smiled in response; there was a worried look in her eye.

"Why don't you tell us what the problem is Mrs Jenkins," Nate said.

"My father opened up a business when he was young and when he died my brother, Joey took over."

"What type of business?" Eliot asked.

"Garage, but it was much more than that. He would give kids jobs and apprenticeships, kids from poor backgrounds, to keep them off the streets. He would make sure they were schooled and fed and that they stayed out of trouble. Anyway, his wife died a few months ago, cancer and since then he's been working three times more than usual to stay afloat but apparently that wasn't to a few people's liking."

"What happened?"

"A new guy moved into the area, Tommy Decan. Joey ran an honest business and he stayed well away from thieves and gangsters but this guy, he may not be in a gang but he works with them, and they didn't like having another mechanic, one that they couldn't trust, in the area. Not to mention he was taking away their business by working extra hours and taking away prospective gang members." Tears began to well in her eyes. "They beat him up, broke his ribs and his collar bone to try and get him to leave but when he wouldn't they burned down his garage, his house. They threatened his family, my family! Now the kids he was helping have nowhere to go but to those gangs and my brother is out of work. He can't pay the mortgage on his house because he has no income."

"What exactly do you want from us Miss Jenkins," Nate asked as he finished his drink, and beckoned the waitress over for another.

"I want Decan gone! I want him out of the neighbourhood; he should be in jail. I want my brother to be able to keep on helping people, just like our dad used to. Can you help Mr Ford?"

"It's what we do."

* * *

**Thanks for those reading/following/favouriting. Please review, I love them so much! They can actually make my day so please, make my day =)**

**I said I was going to be slow with the uploading, but I just couldn't resist, plus I was procrastinating studying...**

**If I fail I'm blaming all of you =P**

**I kid... Writing is a good escape from school and books.**

**Also, I need to know how keen you are for more past chapters, your decision my lovely readers.**

**Another Q, do you enjoy these end of chapter debriefs or do they annoy you? **

**Ta.**


	3. The Past Part 10

**Thanks to those who are reviewing, keep it up. Any questions, please don't hesitate. I am more than extremely happy to answer.**

**To MzRenai- Abby was his niece in the Past and Present Job, maybe check out the Past Part 9 and, hopefully, that will get rid of any ambiguity. I hope I made it clear enough =) In short, Hayley was his sister who got pregnant at 16 who went and lived with Eliot on base after she got kicked out by their oh so loving (and I'm using a sarcastic tone here) father. Again, any more q's don't hesitate now, back to the story.**

* * *

"First day of school!" Abby yelled as she ran into the kitchen, her mother buttering some toast. "Come on Mamma, we have to go to school!"

"We still have time angel," her mother said as she gestured her daughter to sit at the table, passing over a plate with some toast.

"But we don't have time," she complained.

"You always have time to eat," her mother pointed out. Abby let out a huff and she sat down.

"Is Uncle Eliot coming home soon?" she questioned, her mouth full.

"Soon, angel. And don't talk with your mouth full."

"What are you going to do while I'm at school?"

"What I normally do; study."

"That's boring! Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes angel, I will be fine," Hayley laughed. "Now, are we ready to go?"

"Yes!"

* * *

Hayley was pacing around their small back yard, trying to study when she felt two familiar hands cover her eyes.

"Eliot," she said with a smile then turned around to give her big brother a hug.

"Hey kiddo," he said, returning the gesture.

"I missed you. How was work?"

"Oh, you know, kicked some ass," he joked. "Abby at school?"

"Yeah, her first day," Hayley replied, nodding. "You should come pick her up with me!"

"Hales, I love Abby but I just got off an eighteen hour flight. And I'm still in my uniform."  
His sister raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but think of all the single mothers you could attract with that uniform. Just come with me, she'd love it."

* * *

15 minutes later Eliot stood awkwardly in front of Abigail's classroom, receiving both judgemental and admiring stares from other parents. Hayley had opted to wait in the car, allowing the pair's greeting to be more personal.

"Are you in the army?" came a soft female voice from beside him.

"Yeah. Eliot Spencer," he greeted.

"Jenny Masters. Your kid's first day?"

"My niece, and you?"

"My brother," she replied. "So you're not married?"

"No," Eliot said, laughing slightly; Hayley had certainly been right about the army uniform. Before he could say anything more, however, he was greeted by his niece, running out of the classroom.

"Eliot!" she yelled and he knelt down to greet her, then picked her up and twirled her around.

"Hey darlin'. How was school?" he said, fixing up her hair, which had been matted from their greeting.

"School was fun!"

"I'm very glad to hear that darlin'"

* * *

"So what did you learn on your first day?" Eliot asked as they drove home.

"I learned I have to put my hand up when I want to talk and... not much else. But I can count to a hundred now El. Wanna see?" she asked eagerly.

"Maybe late..." he began but it was already too late; the girl had started excitedly counting.

"One, two, three, four..."

"So you'll never guess who called?" Hayley said.

"Who?"

"Uncle Henry, he says he's retiring. Man's gonna be bored to death. I've never met a cop so dedicated to his job."

"Uncle Henry? Retiring?" he confirmed and his sister nodded. "Yeah, I don't give him long before he's back on the force."

"Has he talked to Shawn lately?"

"seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..."

"No, I don't think they talk at all. Must be a Spencer thing, losing contact with your kids," he joked half-heartedly.

"So I have a date," Hayely said to her brother trying to lighten the mood; Eliot let out a slight growl.

"No, Eliot. No. You are not going to do this again. I really like this guy."

"Who is he?"

"His name's Brian, he's in one of my classes. He's really sweet and funny..."

"twenty-eight, twenty-nine, uh..."

"Thirty darlin'," Eliot suggested to Abby. "And the last guy you dated was 'sweet and funny' too but he turned out to be a jack..."

His sister coughed.

"...donkey's behind."

"What, because he didn't pay for dinner?"

"What kind of guy doesn't pay for dinner on the first date? In fact, new rule. If a guy doesn't pay for dinner, you can't date him."

"Fourty-one, fourty-two, fourty-three.."Abby continued.

"You know big brother, I think I'm past the age where you can dictate who I can or cannot date."  
"I know that! It's just, I hope you'll trust my judgement because guys are assholes."

"Eliot," she warned, unhappy with any swearing that occurred around her daughter.

"She's not listening you know Hales."

"Fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven..." she proceeded happily.

"Not all guys are like Steven, El."

"Would you like me to watch Abby for you?" he said; his way of expressing that he had accepted the fact that Hayely was going to date.

"Yes, I'd really appreciate that," she said sincerely. "So'd you get that blonde's number?"

"What blonde?"

"Seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three..."

"The blonde you were chatting up in front of Abby's classroom. I told you El the uniform is a babe magnet. I mean some of the guys on base..."

"Yes," he said quickly, really not wanting to hear what his sister had to say. "Yes, I got her number."

"You gonna take her out to dinner?"

"Yes. And I'm gonna pay for it."

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one-hundred!" Abby finished, very impressed with herself.

* * *

**Time to play guess the reference! There will be several opportunities to play for this story. Winner gets a prize in the form of... something. Maybe the prize could be suggesting the prize...**

**Reviews are extremely welcome!**

**And thanks again to my beta floydist; you are amazing thank you for picking up on some of my butcherings of the English language. **


	4. The Briefing

"I PUT THE CLIENT and her family in a hotel under a false name," Eliot said as he sat down at the bench in Nate's office.

"So they're safe?" the mastermind asked

"For now," Eliot replied.

"Run it, Hardison," Nate said as he gestured to the screens in front of him. The hacker stood up and pressed a button on his remote; the image on the TV's changed to a man who was tall, dark haired man with a strong build.

"Tommy Decan," Hardison began. "Born on the west coast and lived out there until recently, when he set up his garage down near our clients. So basically, he does odd jobs for a few select gangs in town."

"Wait gangs? As in plural," Sophie asked. "Which ones?"

"The Carter Family and from what I can tell, he worked with the mobs out west too."

"Why'd he shift across the country?" Eliot questioned.

"Dunno. There's not really a lot of records about the innermost workings of gangs; if there were, they'd all be in prison. But I did find out that he serves as the middle ground. He'll do odd jobs, transport whatever, launder whatever, do whatever so long as he gets paid." Hardison replied.

"I thought gangs didn't like to work with outsiders?" Parker asked, raising her hand.

"Usually yes," Nate said stepping into the conversation. "But the Carters are a relatively 'new' gang, they don't have the same ideals as the older mobs, but they are also less experienced. No, they outsource because it means more money for them and less liabilities, well, at least that's what they think."

"So how do we play him?" Sophie asked.

"Well," began Nate. "We not only need to move Decan away, but make sure the gangs leave our client alone also."

"And we do that how?" Parker asked

"Do you remember the bank job when we first moved to Boston?" Nate replied and the team nodded. "We're gonna play it like that. We make the gangs believe Decan's a snitch and he'll go running to the feds for protection; take our mobsters out of play for good."

"Yeah but then he's_ in protection_. How are we meant to get to him if he's in protection?" Hardison enquired.

Nate paused and pondered for a moment. "We do the same thing to gangs," he concluded. "Yes, we'll play them both the same way."

"Because it's that simple," the grifter added sarcastically.

* * *

"So how was school?"

"Okay," Abby began. "Different, I guess. Met some pretty cool people, and some assholes." Eliot glared at his niece in response to her 'foul' language. She rolled her eyes; sometimes he forgot that she wasn't ten years old any more.

"Like who?"

"I dunno, just people in general." She didn't elaborate any further. "So, how was your work?"

"Fine, got a new job."

"Like what?" she asked inquisitively.

"No," he said. She had already undertaken enough questionable tasks to find him, he wasn't about to have her engage in any more.

"Oh, come on!" she pleaded

"No," he said again, this time more firmly.

"Come on El. It's not as if I'm asking to join in. I'm just asking what you're doing. Families know what their family members do. And what happened to the whole 'honesty if this is going to work' thing?"

He sighed realising she was right so, reluctantly, he explained their job to her.

"Sounds interesting," she said enthusiastically.

"I gotta stop back at Nate's and do some recon and what not. You gonna be alright if I drop you off home?"

"Actually I kinda need some clothes," she said shyly. She had left almost everything back in Australia and hadn't yet come up with the courage to ask Eliot to buy her some clothes; they hadn't been back as a family for that long and to ask him for something seemed ungrateful.

"I'll drop you off at the mall if you want? Give you some money?" he said.

"That'd be good," she said, grateful that he understood, or at least was intuitive enough to offer, rather than making her ask. "You know you're gonna have to tell them about me eventually yeah?" she said.

Eliot had still not told the team about Abby for two reasons. One, he believed that the less people that knew about her the safer she would be. He had a lot of enemies, many of which, like Moreau, would use anything to get at him. His second reason was simply that he had no idea how to tell them.

* * *

**Please review, my lovely readers. I'm in need of confidence boosting! (i'm coming up to finals and am ****_stressed_**** and an inch away from having a freak out. And yes, I did just use the sympathy card to get reviews)**

**Anyway, hope you're enjoying, new chapter up soon...ish. **

**Ta**


	5. An Almost Meeting

"You should definitely try that on," said a voice from behind Sophie. She was at the mall, holding a blue dress, tossing up whether to try it on or not. She turned around; a teenager, no more than 16 or 17 was standing behind her.

"Sorry?" Sophie said, slightly confused

"Sorry, is that rude?" she asked sheepishly. "You looked like you were trying to decide whether to try it on or not and I think you should.

"No no no, not rude. In fact I wish more people would do that. I mean, do you know how hard it is to find someone to shop with you. All of my friends are hopeless. So for someone to actually take notice is lovely. Thank you!" Sophie replied with a smile

"No problem," she said as she continued to browse through the racks. Sophie couldn't shake the feeling that she had met her before; her demeanour was oddly familiar

"What about this one?" Sophie asked the girl, this time holding up a green dress with black lace

"You want my honest opinion?" the girl said and Sophie nodded. "Well, I don't like the dress. It's kind of blargh. But that's just me.

"Green dress is a no then," Sophie said as she put the dress back on the rack. "What about you? Need any retail advice?" The girl nodded and held up a blue blouse

"Yay or nay? I'm not sure if it'll make me look too old or businessy or whatever.

"Gorgeous colour! But as for the too old thing, you'd have to try it on.

"I'd hate to ask but would you mind giving your opinion?" she asked as she gestured to the change rooms

"Only if you do the same for me!" Sophie laughed. "I'm Sophie, by the way.

"Abby."

* * *

She wasn't sure why she had introduced herself as Abby rather than AJ; she hadn't called herself Abby since her move to Australia, but there was something nice, familiar, about the woman. As unusual as it was though, it was quickly forgotten with a few hours of retail therapy

"Did you buy the whole damn store?" Eliot joked as she stuffed her numerous bags into the back seat

"Everything that would fit!" she toyed back. "I'm starving, what are we eating?

"Was thinking of getting take-out. Indian?

"Sounds delicious."

* * *

"So tell me about these assholes from school," Eliot asked while they were eating

"Just some rich punk kid, Simon, thinks he can do whatever he wants. He was shoving this other kid, James, getting all up in his face.

"Whatcha do?"

"I started talking to the kid so that James couldn't shove him around. I just completely ignored him; he hated it. It was kinda fun actually.

"Have I mentioned you're a lot like your mother?" he said, half smiling

She shook her head."Not really."

"Well ya are. You may not look a thing like your ma, or any of the other Spencers' for that matter, but you sure as hell act like her."

"How?" she asked.

"Your smile. Your personality. Your ma had this ability to be kind to everyone, just like you. She was a great talker, just like you and she was smart, just like you." She smiled in response. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. She didn't really remember her mother. She had a few vivid memories but the rest were vague; smells and moments which didn't really make any sense so it was nice for her to hear about her.

"What about my dad?" she asked. The question caught Eliot by surprise.

"Why'd you wanna know that?" he replied with clenched teeth.

"Well he's my father. I don't want to have anything to do with the man El. I mean he walked out and from what I've heard, he didn't have a good excuse like you. I'd just like to know about him."

Before Eliot could answer there was a knock at the door.

"Saved by the bell," he said, only half joking.

"Don't think I won't bring this back up again!" she said with a smile.

"Eliot, stop being paranoid and open the door man!" Hardison's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Can you go wait in your room for me?" he said quietly.

"Oh come on! Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"I can't believe we're doing this again," she said as she turned and walked into her room. As soon as her door was shut, Eliot let Hardison inside.

"It's about damn time man!" he said as he walked inside shivering. "Those halls are damn freezing! I think I caught the flu standing out there."

"What'd you want Hardison?" Eliot asked rather impatiently. The man held up his phone.

"Thought you might want me to check for bugs seeing as you are technically incapable."

"Just be quick Hardison!"

"What is your problem man? I take time out of my day to," he paused. "Oh," he said seeing the two sets of dishes on the dinner table. "Someone having a little date are we?"

"Not even in the slightest."

"Aha, sure," Hardison said as he began to sweep the apartment for bugs. "She's probably some model or flight attendant. Pretty and young."

Eliot shook his head. "Would you just sweep for the damn bugs Hardison!"

"Wow, you are really in a bad mood." The man walked down the hall and around Eliot's apartment. "There," he said, turning off his phone. "All done. Your home is bug free, thank you very much."

"Thanks Hardison," Eliot said, somewhat spitefully.

"Its my job man. See you tomorrow?" he said as he headed out the door.

"Yeah."

After he had left Abby came out of her room. "Well you just have a great relationship with your co-workers don't you?" she asked sarcastically.

"The man interrupted my dinner!"

"Aha," she said, unimpressed.

* * *

**AN- Sorry it took me so long to put up- I had a hectic week.**

**Theshoegirl- ****_Officially _****she'll meet them about halfway through the story. Stay tuned.**

**Thanks for reviewing- Last chapter's reviews were actually amazing.**

**And thanks for reading also.**

**Ta. **


	6. Introspective

"So how's school?" Eliot asked as he drove her to take her driving test.

"Fine," she replied.

"Freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional?"

"I thought you didn't like that movie?"

"Nah, I said unrealistic. Those Mini's don't have that good of a turning circle."

"Yeah but they were modified!"

"Doesn't matter, it's still unrealistic. Although I will say that heist at the beginning, that one actually could have worked. And you're changing the subject."

"I dunno, I just haven't really made any friends."

The statement honestly took Eliot by surprise. As a child, both before and after her mother's death she had always been excellent with people. And from what he had heard about her endeavours and seen of her interactions with other people recently, she certainly was charismatic. He didn't know why she was having trouble making friends.

"Well what about that guy James or whoever?"

"Well, he won't talk to me 'cause now I'm that girl who saved from being beat up."

"And you're sure you're trying?"

"Yes I'm trying!" she replied angrily

"Okay."

"High school sucks. Speaking of crime, how's work?" Eliot laughed at her desperate attempt to change the subject.

"Fine," he replied and Abby opened her mouth to speak. "Don't say it," he said, anticipating her next comment. "Just a lot of jobs going on, that's all."

"Anything I can help with?" she asked playfully.

"No."

"I know I probably know the answer, but why not?"

"Because. Because I don't want you to be like me. I didn't raise you to be a criminal and I want you to have more. You deserve better."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I sorta get that, but now I don't know exactly, but I know you don't like who you became when you worked for," her voice broke; she coughed and continued. "Moreau. But that's in the past. And you raised me right, hell, you raised ma right, you have a team of people who are, let's be honest, more like your family than a team and you help people that no one else helps. Why would I not, for the most part, want to be the person you are today?"

They were silent for the rest of the trip. They hadn't really discussed Moreau after he had been arrested; there had been the occasional question for clarification, but nothing really significant. He wanted to tell her that she didn't want his life, that she didn't want the life of a criminal; she didn't want the constant task of always looking over one shoulder, never being able to settle down and the ceaseless lying that came with his 'career' but he realised she was partially right. The team was more than just a team; they had stuck by each other with emotional problems, drinking problems, getting arrested and getting shot at. They had gone through more than most families ever would but more importantly, they had come out the other side. And although they moved around alot, the fact that they were always together meant that it didn't matter that they couldn't really settle down because they were always together.

Eliot shook his head at this thought. Three years ago, the idea of calling a sociopathic, emotionally inept thief, an alcoholic ex-insurance cop, a grifter who played others and stole from them and a hacker who drove him up the wall becoming his family was an impossible one. In fact, the idea of calling anyone other than Abby his family, especially after Hayley's death, had once seemed alien to him. He didn't like the idea of being emotionally tied down; of having more people that could, and would, get hurt because of him. Yet, here he was.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay (again). Exams, work and family issues are beginning to catch up with me. I'll get back to regular updating eventually but until then, I'll keep you on your toes =)**

**Thanks for last chapter's reviews; they were awesome!**

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, what do you think?**

**On another note, time for another instalment of [pause for effect] guess the reference!**

**Ta.**


	7. The Con Begins

"HAS ANYONE ELSE noticed anything weird about Eliot lately? He's been acting strange since that business with Moreau," Hardison said to Sophie and Parker as he fetched a bottle of orange soda from the fridge.

"It started before that actually," Parker said in reply, flipping down from her handstand in the middle of the room. The others were surprised; Parker was normally the least observant of someone's emotions.

"Why's that Parker?" Sophie asked quickly; the chance for her to find out more about Eliot and about how Parker was developing emotionally was too good of an opportunity to miss.

"I think it started when he left in the middle of that job and the girl at the hospital." The others nodded in agreement. "Do you think we should do something?"

"You know what, that's a great idea," the hacker began sarcastically. "We'll just be like 'Hey Eliot, so we've been spying on you and your weird hospital friend and now we're staging an intervention.' We'd be dead before we could blink!"

"We don't have to actually ask him about it," Sophie said as though it was obvious. "We just have to give him the opportunity to bring it up."

"Oooh," Parker said eagerly. "I like this plan. Its sneaky!"

"I thought we agreed we were going to let Eliot come to us?" Nate stated as he walked down the stairs.

Sophie opened her mouth to further explain but before she could, the door opened and Nate and Eliot walked inside. The four quickly exchanged glances before Eliot spoke up.

"We finally gonna make a move on this guy?" Eliot asked, pulling up a chair on the bench facing the screens.

* * *

The mark walked into his office and switched on the lamp by the door. The sight of Sophie, who was sitting, feet up at his desk, glass of bourbon in hand was enough to cause him to physically jump.

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously and angrily.

"Annie Croix," she said in a thick British accent, introducing herself by one of her most established personas.

"And what are you doing in my office Miss Croix?" he questioned, speaking her name with disdain.

"I have a business opportunity for you Mr Decan. I work with various... institutions across the pond and we're looking at expanding. We want you on board."

"I already have a business," he rejected.

"Not with us you don't. And we're _much _more established than your current associates."

"I'm sure you weren't so established at one point. I'm investing in these people so they can be."

"Say what you want Mr Decan but I know you're a smart man; a business man. I don't expect you to say yes right away, so here," she slammed a folder down onto his desk, "is our proposition. We'll contact you in a few days."

"I'm not interested," he pressed.

"Of course you're not interested," Sophie said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "But any _uninterested_ business man would still look at that file to see who they're dealin' with, wouldn't they?" She stood up, slamming back the remaining bourbon in the glass. "I'll be seein' you," she said, then turned slowly and walked out the door.

"_Alright Eliot," _Nate said, _"Get ready to make your play."_

* * *

Eliot walked into the nearly empty restaurant and sat, uninvited, at a table next to Lloyd Carter, the head of the small time gang they were taking down. His body guards stood up and raised their guns at the hitter; the restaurant emptied immediately, but without panic; _Must be part of the family_, Eliot thought.

"Are you alright there mate?" Carter asked, his accent thick as though he had just departed from South Africa.

"Oh I'm just dandy," Eliot replied roughly and un-phased by the weapons being shoved in his face.

"Can we help you?" he asked rather condescendingly.

"I have information for you?"

"Information? Who are you?"

"Private contractor; I do whatever work comes my way for a cost," the hitter said as he reached for the mark's plate, stealing himself a handful of fries.

"What cost?"

"For you, free. I've been employed to get rid that Decan fellow."

"Why?" Carter asked as he took a sip of his wine.

"My employers, they have a personal... dislike for the Decan and want him gone; they couldn't care less about you."

"You come into my restaurant, you eat my food, disturb my guests and then tell me you want to get rid of someone who I employ on a regular basis. Why would I listen to you?"

_"Careful Eliot," _Nate's voice said through the intercoms. _"Don't lose him."_

"Because it gets rid of liabilities."

"Mr Decan is not a liability. And we're finished here." Carter gestured to his men, who grabbed Eliot's arm to escort him out and although he would have liked to shove him away, he didn't, instead staying in character.

"Are you sure he's not a liability? 'Cus that stunt with the other mechanic, bustin' him up, well that seems like that'd bring some unwanted judicial attention."

"Wait!" Carter said and waved a hand at his men. The released Eliot's arm and he shook his sleeve out and brushed back his hair. "What other liabilities?" Eliot walked back to the table.

"I don't know details, but he worked with other gangs on the west coast, gangs who have since disbanded."

"You think he's a snitch?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, the man ain't a snitch. He just makes 'friends' takes money and runs. That's why I got hired; payback of sorts."

"What do you propose we do?" Carter asked, leaning forward towards the hitter.

"You obviously have information on him? Business transactions, illegitimate whatevers?" Eliot questioned and the man nodded. "Turn that information over to the cops. Anonymously, of course; the cops'll take care of him for you."

"Yeah but then he will turn states witness!" Carter yelled standing up; apparently, he had a short temper. Eliot shook his head.

"My employers have many friends Mr Carter. Friends who would be willing to make sure that never happens."

"Your employer, I want to meet him."

_"Make him work for it Eliot; it can't be too easy for him." _Said Nate through the intercom.

"Oh, I don't know 'bout that Carter. He likes to remain anonymous."

"I don't meet him, I don't deal," Carter said smugly and Eliot paused momentarily, for effect.

"Alright then," he said finally. "I'll set up a meet." The mark raised his wine glass; a toast to their future business endeavours and Eliot walked out.

_"Alright," _Nate said. _"Good job Eliot."_

"The meet's set up for three days."

"_Is that enough to get everything in place?" _Parker asked.

"_We'll be fine; we've only got some last minute details," _Nate responded as he smiled to himself. How he loved it when a plan came together.


	8. The Carnival Job

**This chapter is set just after the Carnival Job which, after re-watching, I realised I could make it fit quite nicely in with my story.**

* * *

"I just don't understand!" she yelled as she packed up her school books into her bag.

"It's not for you to understand Abby," he said as patiently as he could.

"How is it not for me to understand? It's about me!"

"It's about protecting you Abby!"

"Don't use that excuse unless you actually mean it! This is about you not wanting to tell them!" She yelled back. Somehow the pair had gotten into an argument over Eliot not wanting to tell the team about her. Although neither of them were sure exactly how the discussion had started, they both knew it had been a long time coming; Abby had had enough with being kept a secret.

"Why is this so important to you?"

"Because I want to be a family again!" she yelled. "I don't want to be half of it. I don't want to be a secret any more Eliot! I don't want to have to hide in my room whenever somebody shows up or have to work my way around your _other _family_._ It's not fair on me and it's certainly not fair on them."

"You know it's not like that," he said, now speaking softly and quietly.

"No I don't! And I don't understand why you don't just tell them!"

"Abby, I will tell them."

"You keep saying that," she muttered as she frustratedly picked up her school bag and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"School. Or is no one at all allowed to know I exist?" she replied bitterly as she closed the door behind her.

"Dammit!" he swore as he slammed his hands down on the kitchen bench. There he was again, screwing things up because he was too stubborn and, even though he didn't like to say it, too scared.

* * *

Going to work that day he was glad the only thing he had to do was play security guard. He walked up to the marks porch and rang the doorbell, the mark, John, answered and stepped outside to greet him. "Hi, Eliot, with uh," The hitter greeted as he gestured to his badge, still unhappy about Hardison making a cover ID with his real first name.

That morning

_"It's the perfect cover!" the hacker said. "No one's gonna look for a guy named Eliot when they think the name is fake!"_

_"That's the stupidest idea you've ever come up with Hardison."_

_"Well I was gonna change the name for you but seeing as it's stupid," he paused to type on his computer. "There, just for that you are now Eliot Bumgardner!"_

_"How old are you?" Eliot asked, really not in the mood to deal with children._

"Okay, well, go find Molly, all right?" the mark said.

"Okay," Eliot replied then paused, pretending as though he had no idea who the mark was talking about. "Who's Molly?"

"My daughter. Geeze, don't you guys ever read your files?"

"Okay well, where is she?" Eliot asked, trying to remain patient.

"Look, I don't have time to keep tabs on her," he replied then walked back inside the house.

"Can't watch his own daughter," Eliot muttered under his breath. People like this, people who paid no attention to their children, really, really got on Eliot's nerves. He knew what could happen to children who were ignored by their own parents, parents who couldn't care less about their children, that was why his brother had turned out to be the idiot that he was. And he honestly didn't understand how someone could ignore their children; they were too pure and had too much potential to be ignored.

"Hey, Molly," Eliot said as he found the girl sitting at the base of a tree, staring out to a carnival down the hill. "I'm Eliot. I'm supposed to.." he trailed off, realising she wasn't paying attention.

"It's gotta be pretty cool living next to a carnival though huh?"

"It's gotta be pretty cool being the security guy," she replied sarcastically and Eliot was taken aback, causing him to stutter. He wasn't in the mood for dealing with children or teenagers, his mind was too preoccupied on his own.

"My dad's been all wonky lately, not letting me go anywhere or have anyone over. He's all obsessed with this reconstruction thingy. My mum started it. It's like a shrine to her or something. Anyway the blogs say he's grieving," Molly said to him, causing Eliot to realise what he knew all along' think; he _was _being overly protective and obsessive, something which, to Eliot's disgust, took him comparing himself with a mark to see.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know," she replied.

Spending the rest of day with Molly, it turns out, was good for Eliot. It allowed him to think things through and really figure out what he wanted for her, and for him.

* * *

Sitting in the bar after the job Hardison couldn't help wonder about Eliot. He was so curious about the girl from the hospital, curious about Eliot's past in general but he didn't know how to ask the man. Hardison knew something must be quietly eating away at the hitter but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what. So, against his better judgement, and after plotting with Parker, he took the Sophie approach; asking questions and giving him the opportunity to answer.

"I don't get it man," Hardison said to Eliot in the bar, while Nate and Sophie were wrapping up the job.

"What don't you get Hardison?" the hitter asked, humouring the man.

"How are you so good with kids?" Parker said for the hacker. "I mean you're like Mr Angry yet you were patient and caring with Molly today?"

"Why does everyone assume my only skill-set lies in hurting people?"

"And cooking," Parker added, after all, Eliot was a _very_ good cook. Eliot shook his head. "And I guess it's because you're so... closed off."

"I'm closed..." he scoffed, then let the thought go. Now really wasn't the time to deal with Parker's emotional issues. "I wasn't hatched," he said angrily. "I had a family growing up."

"What with cousins and siblings and nieces and nephews?" the hacker asked and Eliot took a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, something like that."

"On another note," Hardison said trying to change the subject, seeing the hurt in Eliot's eyes. Clearly, family was a sore topic for him, just like it was for the rest of the team. "It sounds like Molly and her dad are doing okay."

"Yeah," the hitter said, staring down at the table. "They're making up for lost time," he said,his mind not drifting from his own situation.

"Hey man, you really shoulda let us get you to a hospital," he said, trying to be empathetic towards the injured man.

"I hired a nurse," he replied as a leggy, blond woman walked into the bar. "This is nurse Gail," he said in passing as he walked out the door, the nurse in his arms.

"I don't think she's registered," Hardison said.

* * *

Actually Nurse Gail was registered, he had met her at the hospital at which Abby had been admitted to several months earlier; the leggy, beautiful part, well, that was just a perk. He had actually intended for her to tend to his wounds in exchange, of course, for a date however exiting the bar he realised it was something he wasn't in the mood for; after seeing the way Molly and her father's relationship had developed after her mother's death, Eliot realised he and Abby could be on the same path which was something which he did not want at all. So, after politely excusing himself from Gail's company, he headed home.

* * *

_ "I know there's California, Oklahoma, _

_ and all the places I ain't ever been to_

_ But down in the valley with whiskey rivers, _

_ These are the places you will find me hiding,_

_ these are the places I will always go_

_ I am on my way, I am on my way,_

_ I am on my way back to where I started._

_ I wish I was a slave to an age old trade,_

_ Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways."_

Eliot walked into their apartment; Abigail was sitting in the den playing and belting out a tune on his guitar. "Hey Dyadya," she said as she laid down the instrument.

"Hey," he said. "Don't stop on my account."

"No, that's okay. I don't really like playing in front of people anyways," she replied, slightly bitterly.

"I brought you somethin'," he said as he laid down the giant giraffe which Molly had won that day; after her ordeal she hadn't really been interested in keeping the toy so, not wanting it to go to waste, Eliot had managed to sneak it into his car without the rest of the team noticing; an attempt to make up for his poor handling of the situation that morning.

"Why.." she began but trailed off." Oh my goodness what happened?" she asked; his face was covered in bruises and his lip was split.

"Just work."

"But are you okay?"

"Just a flesh wound darlin'. Now giraffe," he said, pushing the creature's face up to hers.

"It's cute," she said simply. Eliot sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry about this morning darlin'," he said, speaking the words he hoped the toy would for him.

"I probably didn't handle it as well as I could have."

"You think," she replied sarcastically, then paused as she changed her tone. "I still don't understand though El. I mean, you trust them don't you?"

"Course I trust them," he stated. "But trusting them isn't the issue."  
"What is the issue?"  
"Abby," he warned. "Just drop it okay"

"Okay," she replied reluctantly as she pulled her legs up, now sitting Indian style on the couch facing her uncle."Can I tell you something?" she asked, wondering if she opened up her uncle would do the same.  
"Always."

"I haven't really been trying to make friends at school," she said sheepishly.

"I know," he replied. "You worried we're gonna move again?"

"Sorta," she replied. "More worried that they ain't gonna like me?"

"Why wouldn't they like..."  
"I know you think I'm the most amazing kid ever," she interrupted, playful sarcasm in her voice. "But teenagers are mean. I mean, come on El, I speak like five languages, I've got a memory that's nearly as good as uncle Shawn's..."

"... you remember him?" Eliot asked surprised; the last time she had met his cousin was at Hayley's funeral.

"like I said, memory that's nearly as good as Shawn's." Eliot nodded in agreement, she did have a freakishly good memory; must be something on the Spencer side of the family. "And, not to mention on my first day I stopped some random kid from being beat up. Let's face it Eliot, in the teenage world, I'm a freak."

"You shouldn't let that stop you Abby," he began then switched his methods. "How 'bout we make a deal?" he asked. "You put in effort to make friends at school and, after this next job is over, I promise I'll tell them about you."

Actually, he had already planned in his mind to tell the team about Abby at the conclusion at the job with Decan, but now that he, or more appropriately Abby, had something to gain from it, it couldn't hurt to play it like this.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"Deal," she said as she hugged him, thus accepting his apology. "And the giraffe is awesome! Does it got a name?"

"How should I know?"

"You bought it," she said then paused. "You did buy it didn't you?"

"Actually, I won it," he stated.

"Cool. And you're sure your face is okay?"

"It's fine. Now, go get some gym gear on. I'm teach you how to fight. Now I know you're already pretty good, but I'm gonna teach you to be better."

She ran off to her room to change as did Eliot only more slowly, his body aching like hell from today's incident; who knew carnivals could be so painful.

Actually, the day had been painful, in more ways than one.

First it reminded him of the time he had lost Abigail at a similar carnival when she was eight; it had scared him half to death.

Second, he had spent the whole day him thinking of her and what ifs; specifically the 'what if she gets kidnapped because of my job' what if. So, he had decided, that he would make sure that no one could ever take advantage of her, that she would always have the upper hand and that she could always protect herself.

* * *

After she had changed they were on the fall mats which Eliot had laid out in what, for any normal person, would have been the study of their apartment.

"So, here's the first thing I want you to remember," he said as he adjusted her almost perfect stance to a perfect one. "Try and not fight where possible; only use violence as an appropriate response. Second," he said as he moved her arm in a punching motion, "never strike first, always strike last."

"I've seen you hit plenty of guys first."

"They may not have thrown the first punch but they made the first move. Don't ever be the one to initiate a fight. You do that, you can't read your opponent. The first moves your opposition makes can tell you a lot about his, or her, fighting style. By letting them make the first move, you have the upper hand."

"And the always strike last part?"

"Even if you don't actually knock them down or out, if they surrender in a fight, you want to be the one to have thrown the last punch."

"Why?"

"Because if they do, even if its not concious, they feel superior and who knows what they'll do next. If you do, you're superior, and they won't forget that; its all about power. Third, don't ever let anyone take advantage of you. Fourth," he moved her other arm into a blocking position, "don't be afraid to fight dirty, because the other guy will, but only throw as many punches as you have to," he moved in front of her and looked her straight in the eye. "Finally, do not ever make that last deadly move unless it is you or him. Do you understand?" She nodded fearfully. "Killing a man is something that you can never come back from and I hope its never something you have to go through."

"Okay."

* * *

**Whew, that was a nice big chapter for you. Hope you like it, wasn't too sure about it so let me know what you think.**

**On the whole Eliot using his real name for the job, I understand why the writers did it, but it kinda ****_really_**** annoyed me, so I added a bit of back story to make it make more sense. **

**Thinking of doing another past chapter? Let me know what you think**

**Thanks for the reviews guys, they just keep getting better and better =)**

**Ta. **


	9. Messages

_Bzzt. _Eliot's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out of his pocket, unlocking it to reveal its message

_I made a friend. YAY!_

_ Do we have curry powder and chocolate chips?_

Eliot grinned, but subtly, so Nate and Sophie couldn't see. They were driving in the van, Parker and Hardison in the front, Sophie, Nate and Eliot in the back, ready to make their final move on Decan and Carter.

_Told you you could,_

_ What on earth are you making with curry powder AND chocolate chips?_

He replied and grinned again; and Hardison thought he couldn't do technology. It was just a few buttons.

_You haven't heard of curry powder and chocolate pudding?_

Was the reply he received and then, before he could send a response:

_Kidding. Going to make choc chip cookies and chicken curry for dinner =)_

"Who are you texting?" Sophie asked inquisitively as she saw the hitter tapping away at his phone.

"An old friend," he replied; his default answer for whenever anyone asked him about anyone he knew.

_Curry powder- top left cupboard. _

_ You're gonna have to go to the store for choc chips_

_ There's some change at the back of the tea-towel drawer._

"I don't think that's an 'old friend' Eliot; you're grinning!" Sophie replied

"None of your business Sophie." His default answer for whenever someone questioned him about his old friends.

_Found it. That is, if your idea of change is $1000._

_ Also, found a ninja star?_

"Eliot's grinning?" Parker yelled from the front of the van.

_Emergency cash- PUT BACK THE CHANGE!_

_ I'll be home around 8._

"Yes! He's smiling!" Sophie yelled back; Eliot ignored her. She was right of course, he was smiling. Positively gleeful for having something in his life more than work

_ Dinner shall be ready! And you tell the team tomorrow?_

_ Also, exactly how much 'loose change' do we have hidden in our apartment._

_ And how many weapons?_

"Ya'll better stop before I cut you," he replied with a serious tone, though not serious intent.

"You can't, you're too happy!" Parker yelled

Yes_. Tomorrow._

_ Bout 15 grand and a weapon is never more than three feet away._

Nate shot the team a look telling them to shut up.

_We are loaded! and that's paranoid_

The van came to a halt

_No, I'm loaded_

_ and I'm not paranoid just.. overly cautious._

The van door opened from the outside and Hardison handed the team their ear buds.

_No, I think paranoid =)_

_ call me if you're gonna be late_

"We're all clear on the plan?" Nate asked

_Will do_

"Eliot, would you like me to confiscate that?" Nate asked again and Eliot shot him a dirty look.

"Can we get this job over with?" Eliot said in reply.

"Why in such a hurry?" Hardison asked

"I don't like this job. Too many trigger happy gang members eager to make a name for themselves."

"You reckon' we'll be alright?" Nate asked, truthfully interested in the hitters opinion.

"Dunno. Keep your eyes open though."

* * *

**Thanks again for all of you reading this and for all of your reviews; they really are appreciated!**

**I know all of you REALLY want the team to meet Abby and they will, just be patient; I have a grand scheme in motion and I hope it'll be worth it (But I'm glad you're really getting into it)**

**Side note, nominations for the Fulcrum awards are open now I've put my nominations in, and in no way am I saying nominate me (I'm also not saying don't nominate me =P) I'm just saying nominate the authors and stories that you're really in love with!**

**Anyways, have an excellent day!**

**A Lyrical Dreamer**


	10. The Con Continues

**AN- FYI, the next few chapters will be primarily con focused; it was the only way I could make things work out.**

* * *

"Chase was it?" Carter asked and Eliot silently cursed Hardison for giving him such an idiotic name. The pair shook hands.

"Carter this is my boss, Seamus Hunt," Eliot, as Chase, said as he introduced Nate, posing as Hunt, whose hair had been slicked back in a purposefully large amount of oil, but his clothes were expensive; and Armani suit to give the mark an impression of wealth and success, as though he was not to be messed with.

"Mr Carter a pleasure to meet you," Nate said, as he loudly chewed a piece of gum and shook the mark's hand. "I've heard great things about you."

"I wish I could say the same about you," Carter replied.

"Oh you've heard bad things about me, have you?"

"No, I just haven't heard anything about you. At all."

"Well then, my men are doing their job," Nate said as he gestured to the man to sit. "Now, what made you drag me all the way across the country huh? My man says you wanted to talk about Decan?"

"Yes," the mark replied, "but perhaps we could do so without our pets?"

"Very well," Nate said reluctantly as he motioned Eliot to leave; Carter did the same for his bodyguards.

"I'm very interested in your proposal Mr Hunt, but you'll forgive me for being cautious. I'm sure your man has brought you up to speed but I want to know how you are certain that Decan will not turn states witness."

"It's really quite simple," Nate said leaning forward. "I have a high ranking police officer, a judge and several members of the government on my payroll. They will do what I say."

"You have a judge on your payroll?" Carter asked and Nate raised his eyebrows ever so slightly out of surprise; he had miscalculated, expecting that it would be the government official that he would hone in on, not anyone involved with the judicial process as, as a rule, gang members and anyone affiliated with them, stayed well away from anyone who could arrest them.

"Forgive me, I'm a little hard of hearing, you want to know about the judge?" Nate said, hinting to the team at the other end of the comms.

"_Working on it Nate," _Hardison said.

"Yes," the mark replied. "What is their name? Perhaps I've heard of them?"

_"Okay umm.. looks like there's a Judge H. Jones away at the moment, we can steal him" _Hardison said.

"Judge Jones," Nate said to Carter.

"Who Jones?"

"Who Jones? And by that you mean what is his first name? Again, hearing problems," he said, again hinting at the hacker.

"_Uhhh, H Jones, H Jones..." _Hardison said as he searched through computer files, trying to find the Judges first name

"Henry," Nate finally said, growing impatient and worried that he may lose the mark.

_"Henry Jones Nate? Really? You couldn't come up with something more original?"_

"Yes, Henry Jones," the mastermind confirmed.

"I want to meet him," Carter said.

"Meet him? Well, I can set it up for..."

_"Nate, don't worry, Hardison can play Jones." _Sophie said, reaffirming the decision that had already formed in Nate's mind as she drove towards Decan's office.

"For Monday," Nate continued, but the mark shook his head.

"I'm afraid the only time I have available is now," He said and Nate froze momentarily.

"You want to go see the judge now? Hard of..."

"Hard of hearing, yes I know," He interrupted angrily. "I want to go see the judge, now," he said again, over enunciating.

"No need to be rude Mr Carter. Very well, we shall go see the judge. Now."

_"Now? Really Nate, you're killing me! Look, just try to stall," _Hardison said as he moved to the front of Lucille to drive to the courthouse with Parker.

* * *

"MR DECAN," Sophie said to the mark in character. "Have you thought any more about my offer?

"Miss Croix, I told you I already have business partners. I don't need any more clients," the mark replied; he was playing hard to get.

"Look, I know you're happy being a big fish in a small pond but do you think these small time gangsters will stand the test of time?" The man raised an eyebrow in response and Sophie could see he was getting hooked. "They're already falling apart at the seams. I heard they 'ave a snitch, a power struggle. Mr Decan I'm offerin' you a chance to do business with real established enterprise; men who can offer you real, _consistent _money that looks legitimate."

Carter stood silent for a moment, recalling several rumours he had heard that the Carters indeed had a snitch and that there was a play for power. Rumours, of course, set up by the Leverage crew through subtle manipulation and suggestion.

"What would it cost me?" He asked and Sophie grinned.

"These small time gangs Mr Decan, are a real bother in our business. You have information on them yes? Give this information to the police," the man opened his mouth to protest but Sophie shushed him, raising her hand. "_Anonymously_, Mr Decan. The police are good at very few things, weeding out the opposition is one of them."

"You want to get rid of the competition and take it for yourself?"

"That's right Mr Decan and we want you to be a part of it."

"How do I know Carter won't do the same to me? Turn me in as well?" He asked cautiously.

"I have lots of people on my payroll, people who will do what I say," she replied.

"Like who?"

"A judge for one, but the list is endless."

"You have a judge on your payroll?" he asked.

"Yes, Henry Jones, has been a good friend of mine for several years if you'd like to meet him?"

"I would," Decan interrupted.

"I think he's in a meeting at the moment but we could start getting on our way? I suspect he'll be ready for us in roughly half an hour," she said, hinting at Hardison.

"Sounds like a plan," the mark replied.

**I hope that you guys can follow the story okay, my beta kind of vanished off the face of the earth, so no one (other than me) has checked to make sure it all makes sense so I could very well have missed something.  
So let me know if you don't understand anything/something's amiss and I shall do my best to explain and rectify the situation.**

**BUT... I hope you guys are enjoying the story and thanks again for reading and reviewing =)**

**Ta ta**


	11. Improvising

"Do you have a plan for this Parker" Hardison asked as they were exiting the van outside the courthouse. The plan originally, was to for Nate to steer the mark towards a fed or police man, as it played out easier in the end.

"Yup. Improvise," she replied.

As it was a Friday evening, the courthouse was clearing out early -lawyers and clerks eager to get home or the weekend- thus it was easy for the two thieves to sneak inside without drawing too much attention to themselves. The real problem came when they had to enter the Judge's chambers. It had a lock, only openable with a key card, and a receptionist; a temp who was too young and afraid to leave early.

"I'll move the receptionist, Parker you go and get us a key card," Hardison said, fixing up his tie. "And makes sure it's one that won't look suspicious in a Judges office." The thief nodded and walked off and Hardison walked towards to receptionist, swiping a file from a nearby, unattended desk.

"Miss Lafferty," he said, reading the name off the receptionist's desk, in a slightly camp voice. "Do you have any idea how much trouble we are in?"

"Trouble?" the woman asked rather confused.

"Yes," He replied slamming the stolen file down on the desk for effect. "Trouble. Don't tell me you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"The Johnson case, it's all going to hell!"

"The Johnson case?"

"Yes! We need to get all of the case files from the file room up here stat! We don't have a minute to lose!"

"File room?"

"What are you dull? File room. Johnson Case. Now!" He said slowly for effect.

"Okay," she said worriedly and ran off.

"Receptionist is gone, I reckon we have about half an hour before she returns," He said to the team through her intercom.

"_We're about five minutes out,"_ Sophie replied and at that moment, Parker rounded the corner, key card in hand.

* * *

Inside the judge's office they began to clear out his personal belongings; photos and anything with the judges real first name on it. Unfortunately, this included plaques and diplomas, leaving the office looking very bare.

_ "I'm on my way over with Decan," _Sophie said as she slowly drove to the court house, the mark in his own car behind her. "_ETA is 20 minutes and you'd better be done by then 'cause if either one of them see's the other this whole con is blown." _

"We'll do our best Sophie but Nate isn't even here with Carter yet. Just do you're best to stall."

"Is it okay?"Parker asked, enquiring about the scarce looking office.

"Well it's gonna have to be isn't it," Hardison replied.

"_Two minutes guys, You better be ready,"_ Eliot said through the comms as he Nate and Carter entered the courthouse.

"Robes?" Hardison asked; the outfit would make his persona more believable.

"Closet on the left," Parker replied.

_ "Parker, go act as the secretary. Hardison, look busy and important. I'll try and talk you through it. But remember, be quick or we're stuffed." _Sophie exclaimed

"No pressure huh?" Hardison replied as Nate and the mark walked through the door.

* * *

"Mr Hunt," Parker said as Nate rounded the corner. "Was the judge expecting you today?"

"No, last minute thing I'm afraid, is he in?" the mastermind replied.

"Yes, go right ahead," she gestured and Nate opened the door, gesturing Carter inside who raised a hand at his muscle, directing him to stay outside. Nate did the same for Eliot.

"Henry," Nate said, greeting Hardison with a handshake.

"Seamus, I wasn't expecting you today. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"It's about the issue with Decan, this man here needs confirmation that Decan will not turn state's witness against him and his... business."

"Do you really think it's a good idea bringing a man with such, questionable credentials into a courthouse?"

"His idea, not mine," Nate replied gesturing towards Carter.

"Judge Jones," the mark said, shaking Hardison's hand. "Little young to be a judge eh?"

"I was a smart kid," he replied gesturing to the pair to sit. "Now, you said you needed assurances?"

"That's right," Carter said. "I am more than happy to clear out Decan, he's a thorn in my side, but the amount of dirt he has could ruin my... business."

"And you want to remove the thorn but make sure it doesn't poke you back?" He replied and he could have sworn that he heard Sophie roll her eyes through the comms at his hideous attempt at a metaphor.

"Exactly."

"Well Mr Carter, like I said, I was a smart kid and I still am. Decan won't become a witness because it has to go through my office and, just like Seamus here," the hacker said, gesturing to Nate, "has people in his pocket, I have people in mine. People who will make sure Decan says nothing."

"Not good enough," he replied and Hardison paused. They hadn't had time to plan any of this out and although he was smart, his forte wasn't grifting, something which the team often reminded him of, especially after his 'ice-man' fiasco

_"Tell him Decan has dirt on you too," _Sophie said through the comms and he silently thanked her for stepping in.

"Decan isn't just a problem for you Carter, he and I have had dealings before, dealings which are in _my_ best interests to keep hidden," Hardison said and the mark looked at him and then at Nate.

"You're almost as bad as me," he stated, laughing slightly as he stood up. "You two got yourselves a deal. The coppers'll have the info on Decan by morning. But if you screw with me, you'll be sorry."

"I don't doubt it," Hardison said.

* * *

**New Chapter up quickly because of the wonderful reviews I got!**

**Thanks again for reading and I hope you all continue to enjoy it (even though all of you don't review *hint hint*).**

**But in all seriousness, Thanks**

**-A Lyrical Dreamer**


	12. Deja Vu

Sophie walked up to the judge's chambers seconds after Carter, Nate and Eliot had left.

"Mr Decan," Sophie began, her accent still thick. "Allow me to introduce to you Judge Henry Jones. Henry this is Tommy Decan."

"Pleasure," Hardison said as he extended his hand for the mark to shake.

"Likewise," Decan said, returning the gesture.

"Forgive me, I do not mean to be rude, but standing here in the hall with a questionable man such as yourself, does not bode well for business," Hardison said as he gestured the pair into the office. "Now," he said after they were inside, "what can I do for you?"

"Mr Decan here is thinking of joining my little business and..."

"And I want to assurances that if I give information to the police on the Carters, I won't go down as well," the mark interrupted.

"Well, naturally," the hacker replied and, somehow, he knew Sophie was thanking someone, somewhere for his lack of questionable metaphor. "Let me make this very simple for you. Carter has information on me also which I would prefer not to come to light," he said, sounding like a broken record.

"You know, I launder money, help traffic drugs across the country yet, none of that seems so bad when you consider those in power are the ones that are letting us do it," he said smugly.

"So, Mr Decan, are you convinced?" Sophie said, eager to wrap up the job. There was a momentary, and rather nerve racking, pause as Decan pondered his options.

"Miss Croix, I think we have a deal," he finally said. "The police will have the information on Carter and his enterprise by morning."

"I'm glad we could come to an arrangement Mr Decan," the grifter said as she stood up and offered her hand to the mark, which he grabbed and shook. He did not, however, let go. Instead, he held is grip, looking Sophie square in the eye.

"I warn you though Miss Croix, if you try to cross me you will be sorry."

"Like that mechanic whose arms you broke?" She confirmed, pulling her hand away from Carter.

"No, I didn't break his arms, that would be no fun. I broke his legs and his collar bone and burned down his home. Let that be a warning to you; you mess with me, I fight back exponentially."

"I wouldn't expect any less from my _business partner,_" she said smiling, even though truthfully, her stomach was churning; ill from the sheer brutality of this man. She would definitely be glad when this man was behind bars.

* * *

Carter and his muscle were waiting outside the courthouse for one of their colleagues to pick them up. It was the name spoken in the conversation beside him that caught his attention. "We'll talk to Judge Jones on Monday," a smart, dapper looking lawyer said to another, younger one with short blond hair.

"Why not tonight? Harvey this is a time sensitive issue, we need to talk to him now," the other replied.

"Because Mike, Judge Jones is away and its not that big of an issue; you're overreacting."

"I'm overreacting? Five minutes ago you were in the hotel bar complaining of how we're both going to go to prison."

"Because then I realised we had a way to solve it."

"Actually I think it was Donna's idea," the other, Mike retorted.

"Just shut up and get in the cab will you," the elder lawyer, Harvey, said as he opened the door to the taxi, gesturing Mike inside.

"Did you hear that?" Carter's right hand said to his boss. "If Jones is away?"

"Then we're being set up," he said angrily."Excuse me," Carter said to the pair before they closed the door of the car.

"Yeah," Mike replied.

"Judge Jones is away you said?"

"Apparently," Mike said and turned to the other lawyer, prompting another answer.

"She's in Canada for a funeral. Gets back tomorrow," Harvey said, somewhat reluctantly then shut the door and gestured for the driver to leave.

"Thank you for your time," Carter said slowly as he turned towards his man.

"He said 'she'" the muscle stated.

"The Judge Jones we met, was not a she," Carter said as their car pulled up. "Call Mr Hunt, have him meet us at the restaurant. Tell him we want him to look over the files we're sending to the police."

* * *

_ "Eliot,"_ Nate said to the hitter through his comms.

"Yeah," Eliot replied.

_ "I just got a call from Carter, he wants us to look over the files to set up Decan with."_

"And?"

_ "And he wants us at his restaurant now. Meet me there in five minutes."_

Eliot looked at his watch; only 6:30. He still had plenty of time. "On my way," He said, turning the car around.

_"More than that," _a voice, this time Hardison's, came through the comms. "_Decan just gave his information on Carter to the cops."_

_ "This means we now have a small window of opportunity before Carter can give his information over and they both get taken down," _Nate said.

_ "Exactly," _Hardison responded.

_ "Things just got a little more complicated."_

* * *

**You know what time it is? **

**Guess the reference time! **

**For anyone who's seen it, it should be obvious.**

**Thanks for your reviews, they've been amazing! Seriously, just awesome =)**

**On another note, I know you're all eager for Abby to meet the team and I promise it will happen, just be patient. I have grand plans which are unfolding as we speak (or read)**


	13. Complications

He met Nate outside the restaurant and walking in, he could sense something was wrong; the restaurant was empty except for Carter and his body guards; not exactly what you'd expect on the what is normally the busiest night of the week for any restaurant. Not only that, but the guards were twitchy, hands on their guns the second Nate and Eliot walked through the door.

"Somethin's off," Eliot hissed to Nate as they neared the mark's table.

"I know," Nate whispered back, then began to speak to Carter, switching into character instantaneously. "Carter."

"Hunt," he replied venomously.

"You wanted me to look over the files on Decan?" He asked.

"Yes please, take a look," he said, tossing a manilla folder on the table. Nate opened it, his eyes visibly widening out of surprise."You think you can play me Mr Ford?" He asked, the mention of Nate's real name causing Eliot to tense in preparation for a fight and, through their earbuds, the pair could hear Sophie gasp in surprise and Hardison cussing quietly. Inside the folder had been a file on Nathan Ford; it had details of his arrest the year before, aliases, addresses, but, luckily, none of his known associates.

"How did you get this?" Nate asked, dropping his 'Hunt' persona as Carter's muscle patted both Nate and Eliot down, removing both of their phones, and a knife (though not the only one on his person) from Eliot, and dumping them on the table.

"I too have friends in many places. This one came from a man at the FBI. I have to say, you had me going. The only thing that tipped you off was the fact that I overheard that Judge Henry Jones, is actually a woman; Helen"

_"Damn!"_ Hardison cursed through the earbuds.

_"Nate get out of there,"_ Sophie said sternly.

"Nate?" Eliot hissed, ready at any moment to strike; the muscle was slowly closing in around them, guns poised.

"Just a second," He replied to the hitter and then turned to the mark. "What is it you want? Money? Power?"

_"Nate, stop trying to con the man and get out!"_ Sophie yelled worriedly.

"I want people to know, Mr Ford, that they cannot cross me without consequences" he said as he raised his hand, signalling his men. They stepped forward, preparing to grab the pair, sending Eliot into attack mode. He grabbed the guns of the two nearest men, slamming the butts into their faces, then took out the ammo, while he fended off another man, coming at Eliot from behind, with a swift kick to the groin. There were a lot of men though, and even though they were horrible fighters with lousy self awareness, Eliot, as good as he was, could only take on so many attackers.

"Bring the car 'round front," Eliot hissed into the comms as he warded off more attacks; at least these men were smart enough not to actually fire their guns in such a crowded area, he thought to himself.

He wasn't too sure what happened next. He vaguely remembered a bottle breaking over his head as he punched out one of Carter's last men and Nate ushering Eliot to leave. He remembered seeing blood on Nate's shirt and the taste of blood in his own mouth. He then remembered a bang and a searing pain run through his side. After that, he remembered nothing.

* * *

**So... what are you guys thinking now? Did you see that coming? (for those who didn't read the teaser)**

**What about Abby? Will he make it home in time for dinner? find out on the next instalment of... The Double Job!**

**Keep up the amazing reviews!- Seriously, they are amazing and make my day. I appreciate every single one of them =)**

**Also, reminder to put in your nominations for the Fulcrum awards, I've done mine!**

**Also, there was a typo in the last chapter, to avoid any confusion, Judge Jones is a woman, I think I mistyped once and called her a he.**

**Also (last 'also', I promise) Suits, was the chapter's reference. If you haven't seen it, get on it, top show. **

**Have a good one!**


	14. First Aid and Favours

"Eliot!" Nate yelled as he pushed the hitter into the back of Lucille, which the rest of the team had pulled around front, as per Eliot's instructions. The man had done well to fend off what must have been near 15 attackers and they had almost made it out the door; perhaps both of them would have noticed the mark raising his gun behind him had Eliot not been so dazed with the shock of having a wine bottle smashed over his head, and Nate not developed such tunnel-vision whenever he was in a fight. But they hadn't and Eliot had been shot in his side as a consequence of their judgement; of Nate's misjudgements. He was so angry at himself for letting someone get hurt but he had to concentrate, yes, he had to make sure that his team, no family, member was okay.

"Drive!" He yelled to Parker, sitting in the driver's seat.

"The bar?" she asked.

"No, they, they, they know that's our base," Nate stammered, remembering what was in the file as he put pressure onto Eliot's wound. "Head to the safe house," he yelled back. It was the only place he could be certain was not compromised.

"Nate he needs to go to a hospital!" Sophie yelled.

"Can't, no, hospital," Eliot muttered, spitting out blood.

"He's right, they'll only arrest us and if Carter has cops in his pockets, well that's bad news for everyone." Nate replied. "Head to the safe house, I'll have a friend meet us there. Hardison, grab me the first aid kit. Hardison!" he yelled; the hacker was frozen, staring at Eliot, who had never looked this bad before. "Hardison!" Nate yelled again and Hardison shook his head, snapping out of whatever daze he was in.

"Uh, yeah, first aid kit," he said as he grabbed the extremely extensive first aid kit from one of the cupboards and passed it to Nate, who opened it up and got to work on Eliot, as best as he knew how.

"How long Parker?" Sophie asked a few minutes later.

"'Bout half an hour," she replied as she turned a corner at full speed. Sophie nodded; she was honestly surprised that Parker was holding it together so well.

"Phone," Eliot murmured.

"What?" Sophie asked.

"Phone," he sputtered again.

"Its back at the restaurant," Nate said, though mostly for Sophie's benefit. "Speaking of which," he grabbed Sophie's phone off the bench, ignoring the injured hitter's request, and dialled a number. "Josh? Nathan Ford. I'm calling in that favour you owe me. Yes. Yes. I need you to bring medical supplies for a gunshot wound. Yes, I'm serious. I'll text you the address. I need you there now," he said into the phone. "No Josh, I don't think you understand. I am _asking_ you for help. Please," he said, this time with desperation. "Thank you."

"Doctor friend?" Hardison asked and Nate nodded.

"He'll be there when we get there."

* * *

She checked the clock on the wall for the fifth time that minute and, not surprisingly, it still read 10:37. Eliot was late. Very late. This, normally, wouldn't have concerned or bothered her remotely. He had been late before and she understood. She understood her uncle's job had odd, unpredictable hours which required most of his attention and support. It was not the fact that Eliot wasn't there that was bothering her, it was the fact that he hadn't called.

Normally, Eliot would call or send a text saying he got stuck back at work only this time he hadn't and that worried her. She picked up her phone for the hundredth time that evening and dialled Eliot's number, again.

"Hey El. Apparently you haven't gotten my other 9 messages and I should really stop leaving them 'cus you're gonna get them eventually," she blabbered; she had a tendency to talk nonsense when she was nervous. "Look, can you just call me please. 'Kay, love you. Bye."

She checked the clock again;10:38. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**So he didn't make it home for dinner =(And with Abby now all alone, Eliot injured to a yet unknown extent, the team unaware of her existence even... What will happen now?**

**The reviews have been amazing guys, I thank you from the bottom of my heart =)**

**Ta**


	15. Doctor's Advice

**AN- I know nothing about medical-ness. My entire medical knowledge stems from the show Scrubs and VERY rough research on the internet so I apologise for any medical inaccuracies for this chapter. **

* * *

"So is this the patient?" Doctor Joshua Gillam asked as he walked into the lounge room of one of the teams safe house then stopped, taken aback by the sheer amount of medical equipment that was visible. The equipment was Eliot's idea, so had been this particular safe house; he had made sure that any possible scenario had a response, including the likely possibility of a serious injury. There were various medication, antibiotics, anaesthetics, IV's, gauze, etc.

"Well its kind of obvious isn't it," Parker replied angrily.

"Nate," Gillam greeted the mastermind as he leant over Eliot, lying partially conscious on a table which had been transformed into a makeshift operating table, checking his vitals.

"Josh, tell me what you need. What he needs?" Nate replied.

"He needs a hospital," he replied, cutting open Eliot's shirt, tearing it away from his wound and inspecting the severity of the damage. Nate began to protest but Josh opened spoke again, standing to face Nate. "Look Nate, I've known you long enough to know that's not going to happen. I think I can help him,"

"Think?" Parker asked.

"But if I think he needs a hospital, he goes to a hospital," he continued, ignoring Parker's comment. "There's only so much I can do in a home in the 'burbs. Now, Nate and miss blondy," he said, gesturing to the thief as he leant back over his patient, inserting a dose of anaesthetic into his blood stream. "Put some gloves on and give me a hand."

There was a visible exhale of breath from both Sophie and Hardison as they realised they would not have to deal with the gore of Eliot's injuries. Perhaps Josh had noticed the fear and discolouration in their faces, but they didn't care. They just sat back and watched fearfully, as the doctor worked his magic.

Josh had finished working on Eliot in the early hours of the morning. His wounds, for a gunshot, were not extremely severe. The main danger had been the blood loss he sustained, rectified with a blood transfusion from Hardison, his only match among the team. The hitter was now lying on his uninjured side on the couch in the living room, an easy place for the team to keep an eye on his recovery. He had an IV in his arm, his gunshot wound bandaged and his other scrapes and bruises from the fight similarly tended to.

"You're next Nate," Josh said to the mastermind.

"What?" he replied somewhat confused, then looked down his arms and body realising he too had been injured, though only slightly from broken glass and chairs. Up until now he hadn't noticed; he had been too preoccupied with Eliot's injuries to even think about himself and even when he saw blood on his clothes, he had believed it to be Eliot's. "I'm fine," he said.

"No," he began to protest but was, to everyone's surprise, including his own, too tired to disagree so, reluctantly, he let himself be tended to by the doctor.

"Just so you know, this doesn't make us even," the doctor said with a laugh.

"How's that?"

"Your friend, fixing him up; that made us even. But fixing you up, well that means you owe me."

"Can't argue with you there Josh."

"Is Eliot going to be fine?" Parker asked as she snuck up behind the doctor, causing him to be visibly startled.

"He should be. There was no major damage and the loss of blood has been corrected. The main issue now is if he develops an infection," he replied. "In the mean time, everyone should get some rest; recuperate. Its been a long day for all of you. I'll keep an eye on your friend."

"Don't you have normal people work to do?" she asked and he was taken aback by the bluntness of her question.

"I'm on long service leave actually," he replied.

"Oh, long service leave, of course," the thief replied, though entirely uncertain as to what it actually was, as she wondered off into one of the nearby bedrooms.

"He's right Nate," Sophie said as she pulled on his jacket, gesturing them towards the second bedroom. The mastermind stood there momentarily, looking at the injured man; at his injured family. He wanted to stay where he could watch him; reassure himself that he was breathing still, even though he knew he was going to be alright. "There's nothing we can do right now," the grifter continued so, reluctantly, and too exhausted to argue, he allowed himself to be pulled to bed.

"You should go to bed too you know," the doctor said to Hardison, the only one remaining of the team, who shook his head.

"How do you do it?" he asked suddenly.

"Do what?" Josh said, sitting down on the couch beside Eliot, making himself comfortable.

"Deal with this," the hacker replied as he gestured to the injured man and the stack of bloodied gauze and gloves.

"You learn to."

"How? I mean my, dare I say it, best friend got shot, _shot,_ today and all I could do was stare. I couldn't help him," he said, his voice breaking slightly.

"You wanna know how? You learn to deal with it because you learn that you are the only chance they have. You, and you alone, can save their lives. You have to put those feelings aside, or they die. To me at least, that's enough to put the horror of it all aside, if only for a little while."  
The hacker nodded, still partially unconvinced and wandered into the last remaining bedroom, hoping that when this happened again, because he knew it would, he could step up to help his family.

* * *

**AN- This chapter wasn't edited so I apologise for that.**

**But hope you enjoyed it and thanks again for your reviews.**

**They make me smile!**


	16. A Con All Her Own

When Abby woke up the next morning the first thing she did was check to see if Eliot had returned home; she checked his room, the entry way, the kitchen, for any sign that anyone had been home, with no luck. She paced around for a few minutes before she finally picked up her cell again, dialling her uncle's number. "Dammit," she cursed; the phone had no credit so she walked over to their landline, which she was sure had never, ever been used and picked it up, again dialling her uncles number; it went straight to voice-mail.

"Eliot, I'm starting to get really worried. Please call me. Umm, I'm gonna go over to the bar and see if you're there and I know you told me not too but..." she trailed off. "Just call me okay? Love you." She hung up, got dressed, grabbed a set of car keys from the bench, walked out the door and drove towards McRory's bar.

* * *

"Sir, one, Ford's muscle, Spencer, he got a call just now." A muscle man of Carter's said to his boss as he handed him Eliot's phone.

"So, the man's been getting calls all night. So far, they've done nothing to help us find him," he replied.

"Yes, but this one came from a landline, not a cell. We've traced it."

"Very well then," Carter said as he stood up from his desk, smiling and cocking his gun. "Let's go find them."

* * *

"Can I help you?" Cora asked the young woman, or teenager -she couldn't quite figure out which- walked into the bar with a worried look on her face.

"Maybe," she replied. "Is Eliot Spencer here?"

"Sorry honey," Cora stated apologetically. The girl looked disappointed. "I don't think they came back from... uh, work, last night. Is this about a job? 'Cause if it is you can give me your number and I'll get them to call you."  
"No, that's okay just, when you see Eliot, can you tell him to call Abby?"

"Sure thing hun," she replied as the girl turned around to walk out the door. "Hey are you okay?" She yelled out to her and she turned back around to face Cora.

"Mhmm. I'll be fine," she replied but the look on her face said otherwise.

* * *

As soon as the elevator door opened she sensed something was off. Maybe it was the Spencer side of her, maybe it was a sixth sense, but whatever it was, stepping into the hall towards their apartment she could tell that something was wrong. Consequently, she walked carefully up to the front door, cautiously putting her ear up to it, trying to hear if someone was inside; there was. For a moment she jumped up, excited at the notion that her uncle had returned but the realisation soon came that it was not the voice of her uncle, nor anyone that she knew. She paced for a moment, trying to figure out what to do when, suddenly an idea struck her; she turned to the front door and gave it a loud knock. She heard people shuffling about behind it and mumbled talking when it opened quickly.

"Can I help you?" the man, tall and intimidating, asked.

"Umm yes," Abby replied, thinking on her feet. "I live up the hall. And I'm baking, see, and I'm all out of eggs. You wouldn't happen to have one would you?"

"Dobson, check the fridge for an egg will ya," he replied back to his partner and Abby was slightly surprised. _At least they're nice thief, hitmen, people, _she thought sarcastically. Another man, presumably Dobson came to the door and handed her an egg.

"Thank you so much," Abby said as she began to back away. "You've been really, really helpful."

"Anytime," the first man replied as he closed the door.

Abby made for the elevator as quickly as she could. _Dammit, Dammit Dammit!_ She cursed silently. She was at a loss for what to do; there were strange men in her house, her uncle wasn't answering his phone and the only other way she knew how to get in touch with him had proven to be a dead end. Not only that, but she was scared, not for her own welfare but for her uncle's. He was the only thing she had left and if she lost him... she shook the thought from her mind as she made her way to one of their cars as she keyed an address into the GPS on her phone.

* * *

She drove in front of the house a few times before she finally dared to park and get outside. From what she could tell, it was a normal, suburban house; there was nothing either spectacularly good or bad about it. It was just a house, which, she supposed, was something you would want in a safe house.

After Eliot had returned from San Lorenzo, he had forced her to learn every single escape route, contingency, safe house and false identity, to ensure her safety. This particular house, was the one she had been instructed to go to, if something like this had gone wrong, though they had hoped it would never come to this. She fetched the key out of where Eliot had informed her it was hidden, from inside some play equipment from a park a few blocks over and walked up to the front door, unlocking it as cautiously and quietly as she could. The commotion from the living room around the corner, just out of her view, the yells for medicines and constant asking if Eliot was okay made her freeze. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do.

* * *

**So, we get to see a little of Abby on her own and how capable she is. A precursor of what's to come? (I actually haven't decided yet so opinions are always useful)**

**How is everyone liking the updating speed?**

**Anyway, I sound like a broken record but it needs to be said, that the reviews are good, keep em up. Thanks for reading too, I appreciate it greatly. And if you haven't reviewed I encourage you to do so its the button right over -here!**


	17. An Unexpected Meeting

**And now, my friends, the moment you've all been waiting for!**

Eliot had spent most of the morning in a drug induced daze, much to his protests, but there was only so much he could do to actually prevent the drugs from seeping into his bloodstream. Finally though, around two, they wore off and he was, more or less fully conscious.

"Does it hurt?" Parker asked as she sat cross legged on the coffee table , eyes staring at Eliot's patched up wound.

"The gunshot wound in my side? Yes it hurts," he said somewhat angrily as he forced himself, rather painfully, into a sitting position, preparing himself for the conversation which he was about to begin.  
"So, the patient awakes," Josh said as he walked in from the bathroom, interrupting Eliot before he could begin. "And sitting up when he knows he shouldn't be. Honestly, with the amount of gunshot wounds you have its a wonder you don't know to stay still."

"Who's this guy?" the hitter asked, ignoring the man's comments, remaining sitting up.

"Eliot this is Dr Josh Gillam, an old friend of mine who owed me a favour," Nate said from the kitchen and Eliot gave the doctor a nod of thanks.

"Eliot's bleeding!" Parker yelled as she stood up and pointed at the hitter's wound.

"Dammit," Josh swore as he ran over to his patient, tearing away the dressing and shook his head; it was bleeding badly. "See, this is why they tell you not to move about after you've gotten shot; can someone grab me the medkit?" he asked at no one in particular. Nate picked up one of many from the table and threw it at Parker, who handed it to the doctor.

"Eliot's bleeding? Is he okay?" Sophie yelled as she ran out of one of the bedrooms, hearing the commotion through the door.  
"What? Eliot's bleeding?" Hardison asked, running in from another bedroom.

"He's fine so long as I stop the bleeding," Josh replied, slightly frustrated. "Look Parker, can you go grab my script book out of my coat pocket in the foyer?" he asked, mostly trying to get her out of the way. The thief nodded and walked towards the entryway. She froze momentarily at what she saw.

"That girl that Eliot was with at the hospital is here!" Parker yelled out to the rest of the team when she saw Abigail standing in the foyer; she had been there for a good two minutes before anyone had noticed her.

"How?" Eliot began angrily; _how on earth had they known about her_.

"Paker," Hardison coughed in response to the angry death glare the team received from Eliot.

"No Eliot! Stay put!" Sophie yelled as the man determinately tried to stand.

"Eliot?" the girl asked as she unfroze and ran towards the voices. "Oh my goodness!" she yelled in response to what she saw; her uncle lying on the couch, blood dripping down his side. She ran forward but was stopped by Nate, who grabbed her arms gently, holding her back.

"Get off me!" she yelled as she freed herself from his grip and then elbowed him in the face as he tried to grab her again. The blow was enough to make him stop and she continued to move forward to her uncle. "What happened?" she asked, directing the question at no one in particular.

"Maybe you should wait outside sweetie," Sophie said to the girl, who looked oddly familiar. Abby shook her head.

"What happened?" she pressed and the team exchanged glances, unsure of whether to leave Eliot and the teenager to discuss whatever they needed to or not.

"Job went a little askew, cover got blown," Eliot said.

"Little askew? You got shot!"

"Just a flesh wound," he said, lying slightly; the wound had been quite a bad one, but he was mostly out of danger so there was no use in making things worse for Abby.

"Just a flesh wound," Abby said to herself under her breath. "So you're okay?" the teenager asked in response, running her fingers worriedly through her hair.

"I'm okay darlin', but what are you doing here?" he asked, worried as the why she actually came to the safe house.

"You didn't come home! You normally call or text but you didn't come home," she began, spitting out the words in a panicked jumble. "I called your cell like twenty times and you didn't pick up and I kept on thinking that everything was happening all over again and then there were people in the house,"

"Slow down darlin'. People in the house?" he asked.

"I went to the bar to see if you were there but the ranga bartender said you hadn't come back and when I went back home there were umm, people in the apartment. Two of 'em, big scary looking guys. And you told me if anything like that happened to come here to the safe-house and then I came in here, and I hit him," she said gesturing towards Nate, "and you know the rest," she said finally finishing her panicked speal. She took a deep breath. "Why wouldn't you pick up!?"

"I lost my phone when everything went down, but I'm fine so just relax, okay? I'm fine," he said trying to reassure her.

"Don't tell me that you're fine," she yelled angrily. "You were here overnight and you didn't think for a second to call me and tell me that you're okay! And then I come here and see you covered in blood and..."

"Abby," he said as he groaned, shifting his weight in an attempt to sit up; Josh pushed him back down again.

"NO! I can not go through that again Eliot! I can not go through not knowing what happened to you again! "  
"This is my job Abby!" He said, raising his voice slightly, but not threateningly.

"You think I care? I understand that you're job is dangerous and that you're going to get hurt but you didn't call! I didn't know if you were okay! And I can't go through that again Eliot"

"Dammit Hayley!" He yelled and then paused out of realisation of what he had said. The situation, the conversation was all too familiar for him; he had had this discussion countless times with his sister. They stared at each other momentarily, the rest of the team standing awkwardly, not sure of what to do. Finally, Abby broke her Uncle's stare and walked towards the back door. "Where are you going Abs?" he asked softly as he tried, unsuccessfully, to sit up again, stopped by Josh.

"Don't think I won't drug you again Spencer," the doctor muttered.

"Get some fresh air," she replied bitterly as she shut the door behind her and wandered out into the garden.

"She has a funny accent," Parker commented. "And she seemed nicer at the hospital," Parker stated and Hardison rolled his eyes, muttering something along the lines of 'dammit girl'.

"Somebody better tell me how the _hell_ ya'll know who she is!" he yelled, more furiously than the team had ever seen him before. He had almost forgotten Parker's first comment about knowing her but now that it had been brought back up, he couldn't very well leave it. He was met with silence.

"Huh?!" he yelled again, this time lightly pushing the doctor away and forcing himself into a sitting position. Josh, realising he was going to get no where with patching up his patient at this particular moment, backed off.  
"I don't know why I even bother," Josh mumbled under his breath.

"We saw you with her at the hospital," Parker said quietly. "It was after you left in the middle of that job and we hadn't heard from you so we got worried."

"Why the hell were you spying on me?! You had no right!"

"Eliot, we weren't spying. We were just worried about you," Sophie said.

"Yeah man. I mean we left you alone, like you asked, but you didn't pick up your phone. And when your earbud placed you at the hospital..." Hardison's voice trailed off.

"You had no right to interfere!"

"Eliot we didn't interfere," Sophie said. "We left you and everything alone didn't we?"

"Why are you being so angry? We didn't do anything!" Parker asked, this time raising her voice.

"But you did Parker. Y'all just had to stick your nose in didn't you!"

"We're a family, why wouldn't you tell us?!" the blonde thief yelled again.

"Because it's family," said Nate who had been standing idly throughout the argument. "People do strange things for family don't they?"

"What you did a back ground check on her? You have NO RIGHT looking into _my _personal life!"

"They didn't Eliot. After we saw you with her at the hospital we did nothing. We assumed you'd tell us when you needed to. The only reason I know she's related to you is because she has, ah, a...familiar demeanour," Nate replied, rubbing the emerging bruise on his cheek.

"Why wouldn't you tell us Eliot?" Parker asked again, this time softly and innocently.

"It's my job to keep her safe and the less people that know about her, the easier that is," Eliot replied, this time with a forced calmness.

"Don't you trust us by now?" the grifter enquired.

"Of course I trust you; trust has nothing to do with it," he paused and took a deep breath. "I've made a lot of mistakes by that girl and I can't..." he trailed off and at that moment the team knew why she had been kept a secret; Eliot was scared. Absolutely terrified for the girl's safety. Nate, being the mastermind that he was, also figured there was something more, but he just couldn't figure out exactly what.

"Is she your daughter?" Parker asked.

"No, she's my niece."

"Brother or sister's kid?" Hardison queried.

"Sister, Hayley."

"Where is she now?" the question, this time from Sophie, made his stomach lurch. Not a lot of things made Eliot feel physically ill, but this did. The fact that he had been responsible for his sister's death was an idea he could never get used to.

"She died when Abby was seven," he said simply; they didn't need, or rather Eliot didn't want them, to know the details. "The two had always lived with me and Abs continued to after her mother died but things got, difficult. So she lived with some friends of mine in Australia until a few months ago."

"Difficult how?" Parker asked; the only one brave, or stupid, enough to actually ask the question on everyone's mind.

"Do you honestly think it was my choice to work for Moreau?" He said slowly. In response, the team shifted about awkwardly, all unable to meet his gaze.

"Wait he blackmailed you? With a child?" Sophie asked horrified.

"The way he described it was 'leveraging', but yes," he replied.

"Hang on? She was in the hospital about the same time we went after Moreau the first time. Did he?" Parker asked and the solemn look on Eliot's face was all the reply the team needed. Everyone, including Nate, was slightly shocked.

"Damn," Hardison said simply. "Prison is too good for that bastard."

"Wait, when you were asking for the phone in the van you wanted to call her," Sophie asked, putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together and partially trying to lighten the mood.

"And the grinning in Lucille earlier as well," Parker commented.

"And the way you behave with kids," Hardison added. "Its all starting to make sense," he continued, this time grinning.

**So, not the smooth intro I'm sure Abby and Eliot were hoping for, but it was an intro nonetheless. So, Eliot has some fences to mend but what did you guys think? Worth the wait?**

**I wrote this, for the most part, before I'd even finished the Past and Present Job and then was like, hey, lets make a story out of this!**

**Thanks again for the reviews my friends. Keep em up!**

**Ta**


	18. Introductions

Half an hour later, after he had been patched up by the doctor (and despite Josh's protests) Eliot, donned in a fresh change of clothes from the back of Lucille, walked outside to his niece, who was lying in the grass, staring up at the cloud covered sky. He groaned as she sat down next to her and she looked up out of concern; her eyes were red and he could tell she had been sobbing slightly. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Freaked out, insecure..."

"Neurotic and emotional," she finished, smiling slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Ain't nearly the worst I've had; give it a few weeks and I'll be back to normal."

"That's good," she replied simply.

"I did want to call ya know? But I lost my phone and they had me all drugged up so I wasn't really awake," he said, trying to complete the conversation they had had inside.

"Looked like you were awake when I came in," she said bitterly.

"Only just," he replied. "I'm sorry you know?"

"'T's okay," she said quietly. "Well, not okay, but I understand."

"Sorry 'bout yellin' at you too and... the other thing," the hitter said vaguely, referencing the fact that he had called her by her mother's name.

"Is that what you and ma used to always fight about?"

"What you mean _always_?"

"Not _always,_" she clarified, "but whenever you did argue, it'd always be over the same thing. I didn't really understand it 'till now."

"How'd you remember all that?" he asked. "You were still a kid." She shrugged in response.

"Just do," she said simply. "I'm sorry," she said after a few moments in silence, as she lightly hugged the hitter, so as to not aggravate his wounds.

"What about?"

"Getting so angry and stormin' off. I mean, I hate it when people do that to me."

_"You_ don't need to be sorry darlin'," he replied."You did nothin' wrong. And we're gonna have to work at this you know? This whole, family thing."

"I know. But it'll be easier now the others actually know I exist."

"Suppose that means you wanna meet them properly now huh?" He asked and she smiled, nodded and stood up, then, realising her uncle's difficulties, assisting him in coming to his feet.

"Well that could have gone better," Sophie said as the hitter limped slowly outside to talk to the girl.

"It could have gone worse," Nate retorted and the team nodded in agreement.

"Is this going to make things different now? Between the team?" Parker asked innocently.

"Different, but not necessarily in a bad way," the hacker replied.

"But it will be _different,_" Parker said again, trying to re-emphasise her point.

"Different isn't always bad Parker," Sophie said to her. "Different can be good. It can mean more friends, more people to go shopping with..."

"Someone to finally talk geek to," Hardison interrupted and he was met with a stare of confusion from the team. "Did no one else see those batman hair clips?"

"Only you would notice something like that," Sophie quipped.

"I take it you didn't know about her?" Josh asked somewhat sarcastically, stepping into the conversation.

"No, not exactly," Sophie replied and then turned to Nate. "You're being awfully quiet aren't you?"

He didn't reply and walked into the kitchen in search of a drink, even though there was none to be found; the safe house was well equipped with emergency cash, ID's, clothes and medical supplies but not with alcohol and he desperately needed a drink.  
The situation with their job failing dismally and Eliot getting shot was bad enough, but the fact there was a child involved now, made Nate uncomfortable. _No,_ Nate thought_, that's not it. _What made him uncomfortable was the fact that Eliot had in his life what Nate himself had lost.

As Eliot and the girl walked back inside, the team couldn't help but staring at her. Nate especially noticed how much she didn't look like Eliot. Her skin was olive, her eyes hazel, her hair a very dark brown and her features resembled Eliot's in no way what so ever, although, he supposed, he was only her uncle.  
Sophie noticed, although this was not her first time meeting her, her stance and the way she portrayed herself. She dressed beautifully but simply; black jeans and a familiar looking blue blouse. She dressed as though she wanted to blend in with the crowd and yet came across as self assured. She stood tall and confident, much like her uncle, yet somehow, she seemed kind an joyous, even though, through looking into her eyes, Sophie could tell she had been through a lot in her relatively short life.  
Parker noticed how comfortable she was with Eliot and how connected the pair were, something which she had never really experienced with any male figure, not even Archie, in her life. That is, up until Hardison. She notice how Eliot held her close as though, even though he was the one who was injured, he was trying for some reason to protect her.

Hardison noticed her smile and continued to ogle batman hair clips, pinning her hair of her face.

"Abby this is Alec Hardison, Nathan Ford, Sophie Devareaux and Parker," he said pointing to each in turn. "This is Abigail Spencer."

"Actually, Sophie and I have already met," Abby said, realising for the first time who Sophie was; the woman who had helped her with her shopping.

"I see you bought that blouse," Sophie said, gesturing to the teenager's top and she smiled and nodded. The team looked confused so, she quickly explained to them their meeting.

"Hm, small world," Parker stated then proceeded to poke Abby in the arm. "You're not small."

"Thank you?" she said, only slightly confused as she had heard stories from Eliot before about Parker's unique antics.

"You're Eliot's niece so shouldn't you be a small, child person? And you sound funny," she said, not waiting for a reply. "Why do you sound funny?"

"Because I lived in Australia for 5 years, suppose you pick up a few things," she replied.

"Not that this isn't... charming," Nate began, " but we have to try and figure out our next move. We can't go back to the bar and now apparently," he gestured to Abby, "our homes."

"Speakin' of which, how'd they find that place. 'Cause that apartment is under an alias I only use for houses and it's clean," Eliot said.

"Uh oh," Abby said, realising her mistake.

"What's uh oh?" the hitter questioned.

"I called your mobile from the land line. My phone ran out of credit," she said.

"They must have traced the call," Hardison concluded.

"Well why couldn't they trace the cell?"Eliot asked and Hardison shrugged.

"My guess is they don't have that sort of tech; tracing a landline is _much _easier than tracing a cell."

"Hang on," Sophie said, "Decan gave the information on Carter to the cops. Why haven't they made a move yet?"

"Because he has a fed in his pocket," Nate said, recounting the conversation he had had with the mark earlier.

"We underestimated them," the hitter remarked.

"Wow, this job has just gone _really _well," Hardison commented sarcastically.

"So what's the plan?" Parker queried.

"This fed in his pocket is the real problem, we get rid of him, then the cops can take a run at him," Nate replied.

"And Decan?" Sophie asked. "The con depended on them turning each other in. That's never going to happen now."

"I've got a plan for Decan," Nate responded. "For now, we stay here, keep our heads down until we find out who his FBI contact is and figure out a play for him."

"Guess we're stuck here for a while huh?" Hardison said.

"It'll be fun!" Parker remarked.

"Sure," Eliot commented sarcastically as he settled back down onto the couch, removing the stress from his wounds. "Fun."

* * *

**to dh2930, I hope that sort of answers your question as to why Eliot didn't call.**

**What will they do now?**

**New chapter up soon, Ta**


	19. Questions

The team got to know her over the take-out dinner they had ordered for their evening meal, picked up, much to Eliot's dislike, by Abby in one of the cars that remained at the safe-house; no one who was after them at the moment knew the identity of Abigail and the car was completely clean meaning here was no way anyone could have known where the team were hiding.

"Favourite painting?" Parker asked; number 23 on the list of useless thing she was asking the most recent addition to their family.

"Die Jungfrau by Klimt," she replied.

"Ooh, nice choice." Sophie said.

"National Gallery of Prague; standing guard, motion sensors, laser grid but directly above a tunnel system; 4 minutes 32 seconds." Parker said, listing of the protection surrounding the painting. Abby gasped, impressed. "Best security system?" Parker asked, this time prompted by he recent tangent; Abby was stumped.

"Um the one in the uh... building. With the art," she replied, making her answer as broad as she could think to; Parker shook her head disappointingly.

"No. Its _obviously _a Storenko. Honestly Eliot, what are you teaching this girl."

"Its very simple Parker," he replied. "I think of what we'd all do, then I teach her the opposite."

"Enough of the boring questions Parker, get to the important stuff," Hardison said.

"This is important! How's she gonna know how to steal anything if she doesn't know this stuff."

"She is not stealing anything!" Eliot interjected.

"Important questions like the original trilogy of Star Wars or the Prequels?" Hardison asked, ignoring the hitter's comment.

"That's not even a question," she scoffed. "Original Trilogy wins hands down. I mean come on, CGI Yoda? Really?"

Hardison gaped joyfully at her response.

"Favourite Doctor?"

"David Tennant," she answered instinctively.

"Favourite companion?"

"Donna."

"DC or Marvel?"

"Marvel."

"Batman or Superman?"

"Batman, duh," she said, pointing at her hair clips.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the moment of truth. Kirk or Picard," Hardison asked slowly. This time it took Abby a little longer to respond.

"Imma say Kirk, by a hair," she finally said and Hardison clapped his hands.

"Damn straight he's the best!"

"Since when were you such a geek?" Eliot asked his niece.

"I'm a Gen Y, El. Its in our nature," she replied.

"As if those are important questions?" Sophie asked. "No no, favourite piece of music?"

"Like any music? Or classical, or rock?"

"Start with classical," she prompted.

"Fantasia on a Theme and I think Bohemian Rhapsody is probably one of the most epic songs ever written."

"Spencer, up," the doctor gestured to Eliot, interrupting their dinner conversation. "I want to do one last check before I head out."

"What you're leaving already? What if something goes wrong?" Parker asked worriedly.

"Relax blondy. He'll be fine, the wound wasn't too serious and as long as he keeps it clean, avoids infection and doesn't do too much movement. Spencer," he said and gestured towards the couch to make his final consultation.

.

"How do you know Nate?" Eliot asked as the doctor worked him over, checking his vitals, stitches and various other wounds.

"He investigated me for insurance fraud actually, back in his IYS days," he replied with a slight chuckle.

"I'm assuming you weren't guilty."

"Oh I was, we needed money for a sick child who would have died without treatment. The only way we could make that happen was by, well, cheating. Nate let it slide on the condition that I owe him a favour. We became pretty good friends after that, up until his son died at least."  
"Huh," the hitter said under his breath.

"What's that?"  
"Just, I wouldn't have picked Nate for a guy to push the boundaries like that. At least not back then anyway."

"Yeah well, I never would have picked Nate to push the boundaries like he does now. And anyway, after Sam got sick I was his doctor but we, uh, lost contact after he died," the doctor replied as he tore of his gloves and began to pack up his things. "I assume you've been shot enough to know how to handle this Spencer, so I probably won't bother telling you what to do." Josh said to the hitter as handed him a card.

"What's this?" He asked.

"My number Spencer. In case anyone here decides to get shot and you alone can't deal with it."

Eliot gave a surprised look as to how much the man knew about him.

"I heard someone mention that you're the one that normally patches up gun wounds," he said sensing the man's queries.

"Thank you," Eliot replied simply.

"Don't mention it," he said in response as he did one last visual sweep of the room, ensuring he had not forgotten anything. "All right then," the doctor said, this time loudly, addressing the rest of the rooms occupants. "I'll be heading off."

The doctor was thanked, hands were shaken and then he left, allowing the team to begin to get into rhythm of what would be the next few weeks in the suburban safe house.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed that little bit of fluff. **

**Thanks for reviews,**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Ta**


	20. Pancakes

Wednesday morning rolled around and Nate fumbled into the kitchen as quietly as he could so as to not wake the sleeping teenager on the couch. Sleeping arrangements had had to be readjusted to accommodate for their extra person; Sophie and Nate had remained in the master, Parker had nonchalantly moved her stuff into an unsuspecting, but perfectly happy, Hardison's room, allowing Eliot to sleep comfortably with his injuries on a proper bed, leaving Abby to sleep on the couch, which she did not mind. The safe house was well equipped and the furniture appropriately comfortable.

"Did I wake you?" Nate asked the girl as he noticed her eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

"No," she said sitting up. "I was already awake."

"Trouble sleeping?" he questioned and she nodded, slightly surprised at his intuition. And at the fact he was making conversation with her; he had been mostly silent since she had arrived in the house and had made no real effort to get to know her like the others had, although she did not hold it against him.

"How'd you know?" she walked over to the kitchen bench and sat down opposite Nate who was standing in the kitchen.

"Experience," he replied, pouring himself a glass of coffee, then through gesture, asked Abby if she wanted some also. She declined, shaking her head. "That the worst you've seen him?"

"No, I remember him coming home from the Congo, I think it was, when I was about 6. That was the worst I've ever seen him. The other day, well, that was just a shock."

"It gets easier," he said reassuring her.

"Hope so. And I'm sorry again about your face," she said, gesturing to the bruise on his cheek.

"Don't mention it," he replied, waving his hand nonchalantly. "You throw quite a punch. Learn that from Eliot?"

"Yeah, he likes to make sure I can take care of myself," she said in return as Parker and Hardison walked in from their room.

"Does the whole Eliot being shot thing mean he can't make pancakes?" Parker asked.

"Probably, yes," Hardison replied.

"Oh," she said, genuinely disappointed.

"I'll make some," Abby offered.

"I like this!" the thief said smiling. "Maybe this will be a good change."

* * *

Eliot slowly dragged himself to the table, sat down and eagerly dug into a stack of pancakes; the team stared awkwardly.

"You'd better stop starin'," the hitter said, without looking up. He had always hated it when people coddled him when he was injured; for some reason, people were always worried he was going to push himself too hard after he had been wounded, but he never did. He had been injured, badly, before and knew it was stupid to try and fight it. He had learnt that the best thing for him to do was to put up with the pain and the frustration of not being at the top of his game and just let himself heal.

"Sorry," Sophie said. "Its just a little surreal you know."

"How?" Eliot asked.

"Well you got shot, and now you're eating breakfast like nothing happened," the grifter replied.

"Not like I've never been shot before," he replied, somewhat quietly, trying to avoid the topic. Luckily, he was interrupted by a ringing phone before they could continue to baby him any longer. Abby pulled the ringing device from her pocket checking the caller ID, then, smiling at what she saw, she answered, beginning to stand up, excusing herself from the table.

"Hi," she said cheerfully into the phone.

Nate shot Eliot a look and the hitter reached for his niece's phone, pulling it gently from her hand and hanging up.

"Hey!" she said, trying to snatch it back; she was unsuccessful. "What was that for?"

"Who was that?" Eliot asked.

"No one," she said sheepishly. "Can I have my phone back please?" he raised his eyebrow and she took a deep breath in, feigning defeat. "Oh, my boyfriend," she said and Eliot looked shocked, then slightly mad. "Yeah, he wanted to make sure I came to school today so he could see me try out for cheer-leading."

"I'll kill him," he interrupted.

"... You know see me in the short skirt and what not..." she paused waiting for her uncle to catch on.

"Do not make jokes about boyfriends," he said, finally realising her sarcasm.

"So, not ready for her to date huh?" Nate said.

"But seriously?" Eliot asked again, ignoring Nate's comment.

"A friend, probably wondering why I haven't been at school," she said. The teams situation with Carter had meant Abby too had to stay low and hidden, especially since Carter's men had been to her and Eliot's apartment and likely knew of her existence, meaning she was just as in danger as the rest of the team. "And I'm fairly certain she's not involved with the police or gangs or whoever so I doubt you have to worry about someone tracing my phone."

"Hm," Nate muttered in approval of her perceptiveness.

"Didn't think they were darlin'," Eliot said back.

"And that wouldn't matter," Hardison chimed in. "All they need is a cell phone number or the IP address or the GPS details of your phone and they can trace it."

"Seriously?" she asked. "That's creepy." Her phone rang again and Eliot handed it back to her. She pressed the decline button.

"Thanks darlin'."

"Meh, not a big deal. Just my only friend, in my new high school."

"You know that guilt trippin' thing stopped working on me when you were 10," he quipped.

"You keep telling yourself that," she replied playfully.

"So are we all clear on the plan for today?" Nate said, politely interrupting the conversation.

"Nate we've gone over it a hundred times," Sophie exclaimed.

"It can't hurt to be too careful," he retorted and the team fell silent. Nate had spent more time than usual going over this particular plan. Although it had not been stated, the team all knew that Nate blamed himself for Eliot's injuries and was obsessing out of fear for making the same mistake.

"Yes. We are all clear on the plan," Parker said adamantly.

"Because we have no room for error. Sophie is the only one of us that we can be certain Carter, his FBI contact or any of his men do not know. So we only have one chance of making this work. One." He emphasised.

"No pressure then huh?" Hardison commented.

"Let's go steal us the FBI!"

* * *

**WEW! Chapter 20, only three (I think) Chapters left!**

**As per usual, thanks for reading, even more thanks for reviewing, have an excellent day!**


	21. Stealing the FBI

Sophie Devereaux walked into the Boston field office of the FBI that afternoon as Agent Martin, ID courtesy of Hardison. Sometimes she wondered how many aliases the man had actually made for each of them, and how much time he spent on them. But she did not complain.

She wore a plain black suit, though admittedly not the one she had wanted to wear. That one was in Nate's apartment, far from use for this particular job. In her hand she was carrying a dossier, complete with FBI insignia, her hair was tied up neatly into a ponytail and, pinned to her lapel was an American flag; it was, after all, the small details which helped to sell a role.

No one questioned her, nobody even looked twice; just another suit in a building filled with suits and although, for any thief or grifter, this was exactly what you wanted everywhere, it was not what your average citizen wanted in a building filled with federal agents that were meant to be protecting and serving. But, again, she did not complain.

She walked into their new mark's office confidently, pouring herself a drink; criminals always had the best taste in alcohol. The mark, Alan Britstoff, just sat in his chair, staring somewhat bewildered at the strange woman who had walked into his office and made herself at home.

"What can I do for you Miss... Agent Martin," he said, reading the name off her tag.

"I'm so glad you asked Agent Bristoff," she said in return, with a convincing slightly west coast, American accent. "I work out of a field office in LA and we're very interested in this man," she tossed the dossier onto the man's desk, which he slowly, and reluctantly, opened, causing his mouth to open ever so slightly out of surprise.

"You are after this man?" he asked.

"That's right. His name has come up in a few investigations and we'd like to speak with him. He's been a very very naughty boy and we believe he has information on some gangs both here and back west. We want to see if we can't make a deal to put some more dangerous criminals behind bars."

"Why come to me?" He asked cautiously.

"I heard you've had dealings with him in the past before. If anyone can bring him in, its you."

There was an eerie pause and both Sophie and the rest of the team on the other side of the comms, thought their plan was going to fall apart.

"This, Agent Martin, this I can accommodate."

"Very well then, call me when you have him," Sophie replied as she placed her 'card' on the mans desk and walked confidently out the door.

"Bristoff's on the hook. Are you ready Nate?"

_"Ready as I'll ever be. Hardison make sure you clean up that audio from earlier..."_

_ "Yes, Nate I know," _the Hacker interrupted impatiently; apparently Nate was still nervous about someone getting hurt. "_But you can't rush art."_

* * *

Inside his office Bristoff picked up his office phone, dialled a number and waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

"Bristoff? I thought we were laying low?"

"We were Carter, but there's an agent here from the west coast and she has a very interesting business opportunity. Any word from Ford?"

"I think I've had enough business opportunities for now don't you think? And no word from Ford."

"Try and find him, but don't approach him and _do not_ kill him. I want my men to bring him in. I've got a plan for him."

* * *

Nate waited impatiently in his apartment, feet up on his desk, Old Nate staring at his back. He had been waiting for over two hours, but what had felt more like three. Finally though, he heard the sound of the front door being opened, followed by a parade of men in suits. Clearly the FBI.

"Mr Ford you aren't very good at hiding," Bristoff said as he gestured his men over to Nate who was promptly cuffed and marched up to Bristoff.

"Who says I was hiding?" He asked smugly.

* * *

Nate sat smugly in the interrogation room staring at the two way mirror in front of him, waiting patiently for Bristoff and Sophie to enter and begin the interrogation. He didn't expect anyone soon though; it was FBI protocol to make people 'stew' before beginning questioning. Finally though, after several hours of waiting, the door was opened by Bristoff with Sophie in tow.

"Mr Ford," Sophie began. "You're a hard man to find."

"Thank you," he replied. "Now do you mind telling me what I'm here for?"

"You have information on a small time gang. Information we want," Sophie stated.

"I'm sure I don't know what information you're referring to."

"Information on this man," Sophie said as she laid out a photo of Bristoff, in a very compromising photo with a young woman on the table; a look of shock came to Bristoff's face.

"Wha..what?" he stammered. "What is this?"

"Leverage," Nate said, leaning forward on the table, expressing his dominance.

Two Days Earlier

_"So how do we get Bristoff to turn on Carter?" Sophie asked as the image of the FBI agent was up on the small television in the safe house. _

_"Well see, Bristoff's been a bad boy, not just in his job but in his private life as well. I found a whole bunch of emails and phone calls from unregistered servers to not one, but two women who he has be scandalising with on a regular basis," Hardison commented and Nate grinned._

_That evening Parker and Hardison had risked driving out to follow Bristoff on his liaison with one of the women. Taking photos to provide the mark with the proof they would need._

"It'd be a shame if you're wife were to find out about this wouldn't it?" Sophie asked, dropping her accent.

"Who are you? What do you want?" He asked as he paced nervously about the room.

"What we want is really very simple," Nate began. "We want you stop protecting Carter. Let him go to prison for his crimes."

"You think..." Bristoff began but Nate wasn't prepared to hear it.

"We also have phone calls between you and Carter. Now I really don't think the beauro will be too pleased to know you've been in contact with the leader of a gang do you?" Nate threatened and Bristoff stammered, recalling the phone call he had made to Carter after 'Martin's' first visit, the one which, he now realised, had been bugged.

"You will go right now and arrest Carter with the information given to the police by Tommy Decan. You will then resign from the FBI and move far, far away and if I ever catch a whiff of you again I will not be so accommodating."

"Who are you?!" Bristoff yelled angrily.

"We represent the victims of Carter's and Decan's crimes and," he added, "we represent the man who Carter shot in an attempt to save his own skin."

The mark ran his hand through what was left of his hair.

"Okay," he said simply and with that one simple word, Nate knew they had won.

* * *

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	22. Police HQ

Abby walked into the building, the voices in her ear distracting her from actually paying attention to what was going on around her. She had been told she would get used to it but right now couldn't see how it was possible to drown out 5 plus voices.  
She made her way to the reception, the woman greeted her with a forced smile.

"Hi, I'm here to see Lieutenant Detective Captain Bonnano," Abby said politely, the woman looked her up and down.

"Of course, what's your name?"

Abby hesitated slightly, "Abigail Spencer," she said, Eliot reassuring her through the earbuds that it was okay to use her real name.

The woman handed her a visitors badge and then directing Abby to Bonnano's office.

* * *

2 Days Earlier

_"So whose going to deliver the stuff to Bonnano?" Hardison asked at the briefing. _

_"Ah, Abby will," Nate said hesitating slightly before he took a drink._

_"No," Eliot protested. "Abby will not. Just send it to the man's office like you normally do."_

_"Too risky," Nate replied._

_"So send Parker!"_

_"'Cause that's a great idea," the thief said sarcastically. "Send a thief into a building full of cops."_

_"Nate's right Eliot," Sophie said._

_"El, it's not a big deal," Abby said, who had been observing quietly but intently from the kitchen. "I'm not doing anything illegal and I know Patrick."_

_Eliot growled. _

_"Hang on!" Sophie said. "How's it that Bonnano's met her but we haven't?"_

_Eliot ignored the question. "Fine," he said reluctantly and the team began to run her through what she had to do._

* * *

"Abby?" Patrick asked as the teenager walked into his office.

"Hi Patrick," she said as she smiled.

"What are you doing here?" he asked then paused, mentally running through a list of crimes that fit the Leverage team's MO. "The shooting in the restaurant?" he asked cautiously and Abby nodded.

"Yeah. Apparently things didn't go according to plan.

"I don't want to know details but is everyone alright?"

"Everyone's fine," she said quickly. "Actually they wanted me to give you this," she reached into her pocket and fished out a thumb drive, handing it over to the detective.

"What's this?"

"_Evidence that Tommy Decan was responsible for a house..." _Nate fed to her.

"Evidence on a guy called Tommy Decan that he was responsible for a house fire and a beating. Also his involvement in some gangs," Abby relayed to Bonnano.

"Gangs like Carter," he stated. "What kind of evidence?"

* * *

2 Days earlier

_"So how do we make sure the cops get Decan?" Parker asked as they ran through the con._

_"Hardison do we still have the audio from the ear buds from your meeting with Decan?" Nate asked and the hacker grinned._

_"Why yes, yes we do."_

_"You know, I launder money, help traffic drugs across the country yet, none of that seems so bad when you consider those in power are the ones that are letting us do it," Decan said smugly._

…

_"I warn you though Miss Croix, if you try to cross me you will be sorry."_

_ "Like that mechanic whose arms you broke?" Sophie confirmed._

_ "No, I didn't break his arms, that would be no fun. I broke his legs and his collar bone and burned down his home. Let that be a warning to you; you mess with me, I fight back exponentially." _

* * *

"Let's just say it's self-deprecating," she said as Bonnano's phone went off which he excused himself by raising his index finger to answer.

"_You're doing good darlin'"_ Eliot praised, slightly proud, although he felt as though he shouldn't be.

"It's just talking," she replied as the detective hung up his phone.

"That was the FBI asking for my help to move in and arrest Carter. You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" He asked and Abby smiled, as did the rest of the team on the other end of the comms.

"I'm just the messenger Patrick and do you honestly think Eliot would _ever_ let me in on any of his jobs? The only reason I'm here is because they wanted to make sure you got this and..."

"And it's hardly appropriate for wanted criminals to walk into a police station," he concluded.

"Right," she said as she stood up to leave.

"Can I ask you something though?"

"You just did but sure," she joked.

"Normally they just leave a package on my desk or whatever, no one actually hand delivers it. Why..."

"Because this one was personal. They... I had to make sure it got to you." Bonnano nodded as he drew her meaning.

"Tell your uncle once he's better I challenge him to a game of poker," he said as she walked out the door.

_"That I'd be up for," _Eliot said.

"He says he'll send you an invite."

* * *

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